Gwangju City Bus Union Approves Strike with 89.2% in Favor

Second Mediation Meeting by Local Labor Commission on the 28th Draws Attention

On the 27th, one day before the scheduled Seoul city bus strike, buses are being washed at a public garage in Seoul before operation. Photo by Yonhap News

The Gwangju city bus union, which has been facing difficulties in wage and collective bargaining negotiations, has secured a union member vote in favor of a strike if mediation fails, raising attention to whether a strike will materialize.

According to the Gwangju Bus Union of the Korea Automobile & Transport Workers’ Federation on May 28, a vote on the "2025 industrial action (strike)" was held from the previous day until the morning of this day. Out of a total of 1,362 union members, 1,091 participated in the vote, with 973 (89.2%) voting in favor. There were 111 votes against and 7 invalid votes.

As a result, the union will have the option to use a strike as its final card at the second mediation meeting, which will be arbitrated by the local labor commission in the afternoon.

If negotiations break down on this day, the union will be legally entitled to begin a strike starting May 29, when the right to strike is secured.

Although the Seoul bus union, which had previously announced a strike, has postponed its industrial action and the situation in other regions is changing, the Gwangju bus union maintains that it will proceed with a strike if negotiations fail, regardless of developments elsewhere.

This year, the union is demanding an 8.2% wage increase (340,000 won per month based on the fourth pay grade) and an extension of the retirement age to 65 as part of the wage and collective bargaining negotiations. The Gwangju city government has established an emergency transportation plan to maintain an operation rate of about 70% by deploying approximately 1,000 non-union drivers in the event of a strike.

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