Gwangju City Bus Wage Talks Fail for Third Time... Full-Scale Strike Begins

Gwangju City Implements Emergency Transportation Measures
70 Percent of Bus Operations to Be Maintained

On the 28th, buses are parked at a public bus depot in Seoul as the Seoul city bus union decided to postpone the announced strike despite the breakdown of wage and collective agreement negotiations. Photo by Yonhap News

The labor and management of Gwangju city buses have entered into a full-scale strike after three rounds of wage and collective bargaining agreement negotiations ended in failure.

According to Gwangju City and other sources on June 5, the third mediation meeting for wage and collective bargaining negotiations between the labor and management of Gwangju city buses, held that day under the arbitration of the Jeonnam Regional Labor Relations Commission, ended without an agreement.

The union demanded an 8.2% wage increase (340,000 KRW per month based on the 4th pay grade) and an extension of the retirement age from 61 to 65. However, the management maintained its position on a wage freeze, citing the expansion of transportation deficits, and the gap between the two sides could not be narrowed.

As a result, approximately 1,400 union members went on strike, launching a full-scale walkout starting from the first scheduled bus operation at 5:40 a.m. that day.

Gwangju City decided to implement emergency transportation measures by deploying the remaining 1,000 non-union drivers and others, aiming to maintain a 70% operation rate (700 buses).

If the strike is prolonged and driver fatigue accumulates, the city plans to maintain the 70% operation rate by introducing chartered buses.

Information on changed routes and timetables due to the reduction in city bus operations can be found on the Gwangju Bus Operation Information System and by calling the Bitgoeul Call Center at 120.

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