▲ Gyeonggi Province Bus Labor-Management Negotiations Reach Agreement
Labor and management representatives for Gyeonggi Province buses dramatically reached an agreement on wage and collective bargaining negotiations early this morning (October 30).
As both sides found common ground just hours before the first buses were scheduled to run, a feared traffic chaos during the metropolitan commute was averted.
The Gyeonggi Province Automobile Labor Union, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (hereinafter referred to as the union), and management held a final mediation meeting at the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, and agreed on the wage and collective bargaining mediation proposal at around 2:32 a.m. today.
Following the agreement, the union called off its planned general strike, and 4,130 city and metropolitan buses across 854 routes operated by 29 companies in the province—including Suwon, Yongin, Goyang, and Seongnam—have all resumed normal operations starting with the first departures today.
Having entered negotiations from 3 p.m. yesterday, labor and management struggled to narrow their differences. At management's request, they extended the initial midnight mediation deadline to 3 a.m. today, eventually finding a compromise after repeated recesses and resumptions.
Labor and management agreed to raise the hourly wages for both quasi-public (public management) and private-system routes by 3.2% this year.
They decided to pay the retroactive wage increase by the end of February next year.
Discussions on the main sticking point—achieving wage parity with Seoul buses—will be continued at a later date.
Initially, the union demanded wage increases of 21.56% for quasi-public routes and 30% for private routes, reflecting a previously agreed-upon labor-management-government pact to match Seoul bus wages by January 1, 2026, and the fallout from recent Seoul bus ordinary wage lawsuits. Management had opposed this, citing Gyeonggi Province's deteriorating financial conditions.
However, the breakthrough came in the final negotiations when the union stepped back from its initial raise rate considering the province's tight finances, while securing genuine promises and forward-looking responses from management and Gyeonggi Province to achieve wage parity once the Seoul bus ordinary wage issue is resolved.
Working environment improvement measures demanded by the union as protective devices for safe driving were also largely reflected.
The union and management agreed to grant two days off per week consecutively and on fixed days, provide influenza vaccinations for all union members, and implement a three-day paid incentive leave system (originally requested as five days) for drivers with no accidents annually.
A union official stated, "It is regrettable that we could not bridge the wage gap in the metropolitan area all at once, but the union stepped back considering Gyeonggi Province's difficult financial conditions, and the province and management provided reliable and sincere promises regarding the implementation of Seoul-level wage parity, leading to the agreement. It is also a meaningful achievement in establishing a minimal environment where bus workers can work safely."
Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae stated through a spokesperson's written briefing, "I thank both labor and management for making the resolute decision to reach an agreement without a strike, protecting the daily lives of residents and their safe commutes."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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