Twenty-two city and rural bus unions across the country will initiate labor dispute applications on the 12th. The number of regional unions participating in the application will likely determine whether the nationwide bus strike scheduled for the 28th will materialize.
According to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions National Automobile Workers Union (Automobile Workers Union), regional unions will submit labor dispute adjustment applications to their respective regional labor committees on that day. The exact number of participating unions is expected to be determined around 5 p.m.
Labor dispute adjustment applications are a legal procedure that unions must go through before entering a strike in accordance with the Labor Union Act when renewing collective agreements or wage agreements. If negotiations between labor and management do not reach an agreement even after mediation by the adjustment committee during the adjustment period, a vote among union members can pass the dispute actions.
For regular route passenger transport businesses, the adjustment period is set at 15 days. The union's position is that if an agreement is not reached between the union and the employer from the day of the application until the 27th, they will commence a nationwide simultaneous strike starting from the first bus on the 28th.
Whether 22 unions in 17 regions across the country will simultaneously initiate labor dispute adjustment applications that day is crucial. If internal consultations within some regional unions take too long, resulting in a delay of even a day in their applications, the end point of the 15-day adjustment period could also be postponed. If this happens, the 'nationwide simultaneous strike' set for the 28th may be difficult, and strikes may begin sequentially in various regions.
A union official said, "It may be more challenging to gather opinions internally in provincial units than in metropolitan cities," but added, "We will work to increase the density of negotiations during this adjustment period to reach a conclusion."
If the nationwide bus unions go on a simultaneous strike, it would be the first time in 13 years since 2012. The unions have indicated that operations of over 40,000 buses, including city, rural, high-speed, and airport buses across Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Daejeon, and Gwangju, would face disruptions.
Meanwhile, Seoul is not included among the entities submitting adjustment applications that day. The Seoul Bus Union had their second adjustment meeting with the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission on the 29th of last month, which ended without agreement, and they have already completed both the adjustment process and the member vote, securing the right to take action.
Labor and management are showing differences over the inclusion of regular bonuses in the standard wage and increases in base salaries during this year's wage negotiations. The union argues that regular bonuses, which are received bi-monthly, are automatically included in standard wages based on a Supreme Court ruling from December of last year, and therefore are not subject to collective bargaining. Additionally, the Seoul Bus Union is demanding ▲ an 8.2% increase in base salaries ▲ raising the maximum grade for driving positions (from 9 grades to 11 grades) ▲ extending the retirement age to 65 (currently 63) ▲ establishing 5 days of paid summer leave ▲ and signing a job security agreement. On the other hand, the management side is reportedly maintaining a stance of non-acceptance. Specific demands may vary regionally, but the issues between bus unions regarding standard wages appear to be similar across all areas.
The Seoul Bus Union is set to continue its recent law-abiding protests, which resumed on the 7th after a day of law-abiding protests conducted on the 30th of last month, and will engage in focused negotiations with the city regarding wage negotiations.