Seoul bus strike postponed

Despite a failure in wage negotiations between bus workers in Seoul and management, Seoul’s bus union announced Wednesday that it would be postponing its strike for the time being to avoid a “meaningless” strike.

The postponement was announced after the Seoul City Bus Workers’ Union, under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, failed to reach an agreement with the Seoul Bus Transportation Business Association at 12:10 a.m. on Wednesday. Branch leaders voted for a delay during meeting at its Yongsan District Office at around 2 a.m., with 49 of 63 members present voting in favor of postponement.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government confirmed services were running normally, cancelling emergency plans to mitigate the effects of the strike.

“We are convinced that even if we go on strike, neither Seoul city nor the bus operators will change their stance. It would be a meaningless form of action,” said a bus union representative. “After taking further legal action and filing petitions to the Ministry of Labor and Employment, we plan to resume negotiations with the company and with the city of Seoul so that unreasonable claims can no longer be made.”

The union’s decision seemed to be influenced by internal concerns, including the potential for causing disruptions ahead of the June 3 presidential election and difficulties for early morning commuters.

“We sincerely welcome and thank the labor union for deciding to postpone the strike,” the Seoul Bus Transportation Business Association said in an official statement. “The association plans to resume wage negotiations with the labor union as soon as possible. We will respectfully request the need for a reform in the wage system in future negotiations with the labor union.”

Meanwhile, bus strikes resumed after wage negotiations collapsed in Busan, Ulsan and Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, causing major disruptions for morning commuters.

In Busan, however, an agreement was reached between the city’s bus workers’ union and management at 12:55 p.m., allowing for normal bus services to be resumed later in the day. The city's bus drivers will see an increase in pay of up to 10.48 percent.