The Seoul city bus union began its 'strike action' from the first bus on the 30th. This is a method that decreases the efficiency of bus operations due to steady driving and adherence to regulations. The background for the union's strike action is the failed negotiations between labor and management over the 'reform of the standard wage system' which took place the previous day.
◇ Labor said, “Include regular bonuses in the standard wage”
The standard wage is the wage that serves as the basis for calculating allowances and retirement pay. When the standard wage rises, various statutory allowances also increase. The controversy began after the Supreme Court's grand panel ruling on December 29 last year regarding the scope of the standard wage. The Supreme Court's grand panel abolished the criteria of 'fixedness' among the regularity, uniformity, and fixed nature that had been used to determine the standard wage, and ruled to include various allowances, such as regular bonuses tied to employment conditions or days worked, in the standard wage.
The union insists that the 'regular bonuses' should be reflected in the standard wage according to this ruling. A union official noted, “The issue of whether the regular bonuses are part of the standard wage is still under consideration by the court and the Ministry of Employment and Labor and cannot be a subject of collective bargaining or mediation by the Labor Relations Commission.”
◇ Management stated, “Eliminate and amend bonuses to lower the standard wage”... Seoul city considers “financial aspects”
Conversely, management believes it is necessary to reform the wage system entirely by eliminating and amending the bonus provisions to lower the standard wage level. As the existing wage system was established on the premise that 'bonuses are not included in the standard wage,' it argues that if the Supreme Court's legal principles have changed, the wage system must also be reformed. The union is opposing this, claiming it is a 'wage cut.'
Seoul city also sees the need to reform the standard wage system like management. Due to the operation of the city bus semi-publicly, cumulative liabilities are already nearing 1 trillion won, and there are concerns that if regular bonuses are reflected in the standard wage, labor costs will increase and the financial burden will grow.
Seoul city stated in explanatory material distributed the previous day, “The bus union is demanding a more than 10% wage increase resulting from the change in the precedent, along with an additional 8.2% increase in the base salary,” and added, “If all these demands are accepted, the average wage of city bus drivers would increase from 62.73 million won to 78.72 million won.” It further estimated that the total labor cost for drivers would increase by about 300 billion won each year.
◇ After a 9-hour marathon negotiation, it ended in failure... “If negotiations fail, transition to a strike”
Labor and management continued marathon negotiations for about 9 hours during the final adjustment meeting that started at 5 p.m. the previous day. However, they ultimately failed to narrow their differences, and around 2 a.m., they declared a halt to the mediation. The Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission proposed a mediation plan suggesting to freeze wages and discuss the issues of bonuses and inclusion in the standard wage later, but it was reported that both sides rejected this.
A spokesperson for the Seoul city bus labor union stated, “We had no choice but to reject the mediation plan proposed by the labor commission because it was not acceptable,” and added, “The labor commission presented a mediation plan to freeze wages just before midnight, and even this freeze proposal was rejected by the management side.”
With the union entering lawful operation, both labor and management are expected to continue negotiations behind the scenes. However, given the significant differences in both positions, it seems challenging to narrow the gap. If negotiations face difficulties, there is a possibility that the union may shift its strike action from lawful operation to a 'general strike.'
Meanwhile, there are predictions that the issue of reforming the standard wage may also impact the wages and collective agreements of city buses in other regions. Park Jeom-gon, Chairperson of the Seoul City Bus Union, stated, “If negotiations do not go well while we are operating lawfully, we will enter a strike,” and noted, “We are also considering the option of holding a nationwide simultaneous strike through a meeting of representatives from provinces across the country.”