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Seoul bus union starts work-to-rule after wage hike deal fails

Published: 30 Apr. 2025, 06:38 Updated: 30 Apr. 2025, 09:31

Commuters take the bus near Seoul Station in central Seoul on April 28. [YONHAP]

The Seoul city bus labor union began a partial strike and work-to-rule action at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, after failed last-minute wage and collective bargaining talks with management the previous evening.

The union had warned of such action, raising concerns of major disruption during the morning commute. The union last went on strike in March 2024, which lasted 11 hours.

The core issue was the calculation of ordinary wages. Citing a Supreme Court ruling issued late last year, the union demanded a wage hike of more than 10 percent related to ordinary wage revisions, along with an additional 8.2 percent increase to base pay.

The city of Seoul and bus operators pushed back, arguing that the union’s demands would effectively amount to more than a 20 percent raise in total compensation. If accepted in full, the average annual wage of Seoul’s city bus drivers would increase from 62.73 million won ($43,800) to 78.72 million won, adding an estimated 300 billion won annually to labor costs.

Management maintained that the current wage system is based on the premise that bonuses are excluded from ordinary wages. If legal interpretations change, they argued, then the wage system itself must be restructured accordingly.

Buses run near Seoul Station in central Seoul on April 28. [YONHAP]

However, the union countered that, “If bonuses are deemed part of ordinary wages under the collective agreement, then under Supreme Court precedent, employees can claim additional legal pay for overtime, even without new demands.”

“Attempts by the city and employers to abolish the fixed bonus clause or convert it to performance-based pay constitute a revocation of existing labor rights and amount to a pay cut," said the union.

In response to the strike, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has enacted emergency transportation measures.

Subway rush-hour service will be extended by one hour, from the current 7 to 9 a.m. to 7 to 10 a.m., and an additional 47 subway trips will be added across Lines 1 through 8 and the Ui-Sinseol Line. District governments will also deploy free shuttle buses during morning hours to connect major subway stations with key locations.

“The city is fully prepared to prevent any inconvenience to citizens, regardless of the circumstances," said Yeo Jang-kwon, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Transportation Bureau.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY LEE SOO-KI [[email protected]]