Pilsun Park of Gwangju City Council Urges City Government to Mediate Bus Strike Dispute

Labor and Management Fail to Reach Agreement in Second Mediation...
Further Talks Scheduled for Next Week
Concerns Grow Over Potential Bus Strike and Public Inconvenience
"City Government Is the Main Agent of the Quasi-Public System...
Cannot Remain Passive"

Pilsun Park, Gwangju City Councilor.

Pilsun Park, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party, Gwangsan District 3), stated on May 29 regarding the ongoing labor-management conflict in the city bus sector, "The Gwangju City government must step in to mediate the dispute."

The labor and management sides of Gwangju's city bus sector failed to narrow their differences during the second round of mediation for the wage and collective bargaining agreement, which was held the previous day under the arbitration of the Gwangju Regional Labor Relations Commission. Although the union had announced a strike for May 29 following a vote by its members, the strike was postponed to after the third round of mediation scheduled for June 4, due to the commission's intervention.

On the same day, Councilor Park issued a press release stating, "It is fortunate that the strike has been postponed, but with negotiations still at a standstill, concerns about a strike next week remain. In order to prevent inconvenience to citizens, both labor and management must make significant concessions and efforts."

She continued, "The problem is that, even though it is clear that a strike would cause inconvenience to citizens, the Gwangju City government is merely standing by and doing nothing. This is in stark contrast to other local governments such as Seoul and Busan, which are actively involved in negotiations."

Park also stated, "The main agent of the quasi-public bus operation system, which uses citizens' tax money to fund bus operations, is the Gwangju City government. As even skeptical discussions about the continuation of the quasi-public system are taking place, the city must not only engage in policy deliberation but also fulfill its role as a mediator or conflict resolver."

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