Gyeongnam Yangsan City Bus Company 'Sewon' Moves Toward Strike

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kang Sharon] On the 3rd, Yangsan City in Gyeongnam announced that the labor union of the local city bus company 'Sewon' is taking steps toward a strike.

Sewon operates 32 city bus routes in the Yangsan area.

According to the city, the Sewon labor union applied for a labor dispute mediation request to the Gyeongnam Labor Commission on the 17th of last month.

At the final mediation meeting on the 1st, negotiations between labor and management broke down.

In a recent strike vote conducted among 232 union members, the strike was approved with a 65% approval rate.

The union initially demanded a 9% wage increase for full-time workers and 14% for two-shift workers starting in March, but the management proposed a freeze citing reasons such as decreased revenue due to COVID-19.

A total of nine rounds of wage negotiations were held, but no agreement was reached.

Among Sewon's 32 routes (124 buses), 23 routes (115 buses) are subject to the strike.

The city is establishing transportation measures to minimize inconvenience to citizens.

If the strike is confirmed, it will be announced on the bus website and other channels.

A Yangsan city official stated, "We urge the withdrawal of the strike that holds citizens' inconvenience hostage and call for mutual growth and cooperation through renegotiation between labor and management," adding, "We will do our best to prevent the strike, but a strike is expected to begin with a rally on the 4th."

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