Changwon City Buses Face Another Total Strike Crisis... Sharp Labor-Management Conflict

If Labor Negotiations Fail on the 18th, First Train Will Stop from the 19th

Changwon City Begins Negotiation Coordination and Alternative Transportation Preparation

City buses in Changwon, Gyeongnam, are once again facing the risk of stopping.

Since the 3rd, the Changwon City Bus Labor Union and the company have entered into wage and collective bargaining negotiations but have failed to narrow their differences.

According to the union on the 18th, after applying for mediation at the Gyeongnam Regional Labor Relations Commission, the 7th round of negotiations took place, but both sides still could not find common ground.

The Changwon City Bus Union Council, consisting of seven bus companies affiliated with the Korean Federation of Trade Unions such as Dongyang Transportation, is demanding ▲a 7.4% wage increase ▲increased vacation pay ▲guaranteed rest time after operating during traffic congestion hours ▲and extension of the retirement age from the current 62 to 65.

The management stated that it is difficult to accept the wage increase rate demanded by the union because it is too high.

They explained that other regions implementing semi-public city bus systems, such as Seoul and Busan, recently agreed on a 3.5% increase, and it is difficult to raise wages by 7.4% in Changwon, where the number of passengers and productivity are relatively low.

City buses that have finished their routes are lined up at the public garage in Deokdong-dong, Masanhappo-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam.
[Photo by Se-ryeong Lee]

At 3 p.m. that day, the labor and management sides are scheduled to enter the final negotiation at the Gyeongnam Labor Relations Commission mediation meeting. If the meeting fails, the union plans to start a general strike from the first bus at 5 a.m. on the 19th.

Jinhae Passenger and Machang Passenger, which are negotiating separately from the council, will also hold mediation meetings at the Labor Relations Commission that day.

Changwon City announced that it will deploy 142 charter buses and 10 city hall buses as alternative transportation means in preparation for the general strike.

With the cooperation of individual and corporate taxi operators in the Changwon area, buses will operate along the routes for 2 hours and 30 minutes each during the morning commute and evening rush hours.

A city official said, “We are continuing to mediate between both sides and will attend the final negotiation table. Even if city bus operations are suspended, we will mobilize alternative transportation means so that citizens’ mobility is not hindered.”

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