Rail Strike Enters Fourth Day with 70.1% Afternoon Train Operation Rate... Strike Participation Rate at 28.8%

by Roh Kyungjo

Published 08 Dec.2024 18:28(KST)

As of 3 p.m. on the 8th, the fourth day of the nationwide strike by the Korea Railroad Workers' Union (Railroad Union), the average operation rate of all trains was recorded at 70.1% compared to normal times. This is 1.0 percentage point higher than the rate at 3 p.m. the previous day.

On the fourth day of the nationwide general strike by the Korea Railroad Workers' Union (KRWU) on the 8th, trains that have been suspended are being displayed on the status board inside Seoul Station. / Photo by Yonhap News

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that trains are operating at 100.6% of the originally planned level through the deployment of substitute personnel. The operation rates by train type are 73.9% for metropolitan subway trains, 68.7% for KTX, 58.3% for passenger trains, and 52.4% for freight trains.

The strike participation rate of the Railroad Union rose by 0.9 percentage points from 3 p.m. the previous day to 28.8%. Out of 27,552 employees scheduled to work, 7,928 are participating in the strike.

The Ministry expects to maintain an operation rate of about 70% of the usual level for the time being. However, if the strike continues longer, the operation rate may decrease due to accumulated fatigue among workers. According to Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) and the Railroad Union, there has been no movement to resume negotiations between labor and management yet.

Earlier, the Railroad Union launched a general strike at 9 a.m. on the 5th, demanding a fixed increase in base pay, resolution of wage arrears, improvement of performance bonus payment rates, reinforcement of insufficient personnel, and a shift to a 4-team 2-shift work system.