A scene of a garage as the Gwangju city bus union begins a full strike on the 5th. /Courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

The Gwangju city bus union went on strike for the first time in 11 years since 2014.

The Gwangju regional bus union of the National Automobile Workers Union started a total strike on the 5th.

Gwangju city reports that out of about 1,400 bus union members, over 1,040 participated in the strike.

As a result of the union strike, only 770 out of approximately 1,000 Gwangju city buses, which usually operate, will run that day. The average bus dispatch time was 45 minutes, but that day it increased to 58 minutes, an increase of 14 minutes. Some routes are reported to have suspended service.

Gwangju city stated that it would implement emergency transport measures, including the urgent mobilization of non-union members, as the city bus union entered a full-scale strike.

The Gwangju bus labor and management engaged in a third round of mediation with the Jeonnam Provincial Labor Relations Commission since the afternoon of the 3rd, but they failed to reach an agreement. The union demands an 8.2% increase in basic wages and an extension of the retirement age from 61 to 65 years. The management, on the other hand, maintains that wages must be frozen due to transportation deficits.