With the first strike by bus drivers in 15 years looming, the Seoul Metropolitan Government was striving Thursday to minimize its possible impact on commuters.

City officials were preparing extra taxis, subways and village buses, plus some charter buses, while asking its affiliated agencies and public companies to have their employees come to work an hour late on Friday morning.

From 4 a.m. Friday, the Seoul City Bus Labor Union, which covers 98 percent of the city’s unionized bus workers, plans to launch an indefinite strike, demanding a pay increase.

If the walkout materializes, the city’s measures would fall far short of preventing chaos on the roads. On a normal day, more than 7,600 buses run on 366 routes around the city, carrying approximately 5 million passengers.

Representatives of the union and an association of employers were meeting Thursday afternoon for last-minute negotiations in a bid to avert the strike.

The labor union demands a 4.5 percent rise in salaries plus monthly bonuses, threatening an indefinite walkout until their demand is met. Union members approved the strike plan in a vote Monday, with more than 90 percent support.

“Over the past eight years, salaries of Seoul bus drivers have risen by just two percent,” said Lee Tae-ju, a spokesperson for the union. “Since bus fares were hiked in February, now is time that we get a pay increase.”

Employers claim the demand is unacceptable, given the bus operator’s poor finances.

Most of the city’s 66 bus firms are privately owned. With bus fares tightly controlled by the city, they rely heavily on city subsidies to make up for operating losses.

Seoul officials also negatively regard the drivers’ demand, saying the city’s funds ― from which it gives out subsidies to loss-making bus operators ― are already running a shortfall of 300 billion won ($258 million).

The labor strife comes amid a heavily publicized tussle between Mayor Park Won-soon and the city’s only private subway operator over fares.

The civic-activist turned mayor stopped a plan by Seoul Metro Line 9 Corp., which operates the 25.5-kilometer section linking Gimpo and southern Seoul, to hike subway fares by 500 won.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)