Changwon City Buses Face Another Possible Strike... Union Urges City to Actively Intervene

Labor-Management Conflict Continues Over Bonus Hourly Wage Conversion

The bus strike in Changwon City, Gyeongnam, which was withdrawn after just one day, is on the verge of resuming.

The nine unions of the Changwon City Bus Council held a rally in front of Changwon Special City Hall on the 27th, urging the city to actively intervene and mediate in the wage collective bargaining with the management.

They stated that if negotiations fail, they will go on strike again.

The labor and management held a final mediation meeting at the Gyeongnam Regional Labor Relations Commission on the 19th but failed to narrow their differences and went on strike the next day.

With mediation from Changwon City and others, the strike was withdrawn after one day, but unofficial negotiations on the 25th and 26th and additional talks on the morning of the 27th reportedly ended in a stalemate.

The Changwon City Bus Union in Gyeongnam is holding a rally in front of the Changwon Special City Hall.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

According to the city and the unions, labor and management showed differences over ▲a 3.5% increase in regular wages ▲an increase in accident-free allowance to 100,000 KRW per month ▲summer vacation pay raised to 600,000 KRW ▲100,000 KRW per university student child for tuition support ▲and converting bonuses into hourly wages.

In particular, there is significant conflict between labor and management regarding the timing and method of converting bonuses into hourly wages.

The union argues that converting bonuses into hourly wages changes the wage system and requires sufficient discussion and time, while the management insists it should be implemented immediately as originally agreed upon by both parties.

There is also disagreement over whether to apply the 3.5% wage increase to bonuses or, as the union claims, to apply 209 hours after converting to hourly wages.

A union official said, “The mayor is currently on an overseas business trip, so we waited to find a compromise with Changwon City over time, but negotiations have only been going in circles. We are not saying to strike immediately tomorrow, but we want Changwon City to properly mediate so that negotiations can proceed promptly.”

Later, from 4 p.m., two representatives from labor and management and officials from Changwon City sat at the negotiation table once again.

A city official said, “Since the city is not a direct party to the negotiations, it is difficult to intervene first, but we will review the labor-management proposals together at any time. Because the labor-management conflict causes great inconvenience and concern to citizens, we will actively support both sides to make concessions and find a compromise.”

With the union expressing willingness to negotiate overnight and stating that if there is no clear progress, they will strike again, attention is focused on whether labor and management will reach an agreement.

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