Changwon City Prepares Emergency Measures Against City Bus Strike

Emergency Deployment of 161 Temporary Buses and 300 Rented Taxis

Changwon City Hall Panorama

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] As labor and management of six city bus companies in Changwon, Gyeongnam, have announced a strike starting from the first bus on the morning of the 30th due to a breakdown in wage negotiations, Changwon City announced an emergency transportation plan on the 28th in preparation for the city bus union strike.

There are nine city bus companies in Changwon operating a total of 720 buses.

If the final mediation meeting on the afternoon of the 29th fails, about 80%, or 538 buses, of the six companies that have announced the strike will stop running.

In the event of a strike, Changwon City will deploy 150 charter buses, 11 city hall public buses, 208 city buses from companies not participating in the strike, 25 village buses, and 300 rented taxis.

They plan to operate at about 65% of the usual weekday level. The rented taxis operating during commuting hours will focus on rural areas.

By contacting the Eup/Myeon Administrative Welfare Centers, a call system will be operated to pick up passengers all the way to the villages. The city will also fully lift the taxi restriction system.

Je Jong-nam, head of Changwon City's New Transportation Promotion Division, said, “If the strike takes place, we will prepare a plan to normalize the situation early, and we ask citizens to check the operation routes in advance in preparation for the emergency and actively participate in the carpooling campaign.”

Meanwhile, the labor and management, who have held eight rounds of negotiations since the end of March, failed to find a compromise even with mediation by the Gyeongnam Regional Labor Commission.

The union demanded a 9% wage increase and the establishment of a 100,000 KRW accident-free allowance. The companies countered with a wage freeze and a 300% cut in bonuses.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.