Parallel to the issue of normal wages... If the second round of coordination fails today, the first round of strikes will begin tomorrow.
Union: “A 7.85% increase in hourly wage plus an increase in regular wages” vs. Management: “Hourly wage only increased by 10.32%”
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Dong-gyu and Kim Jun-tae = Seoul city bus labor and management, who are at odds over the application of normal wages and wage increases, will sit down at the negotiation table on the 15th, a day before the union's strike notice date.
The Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission will hold the second mediation meeting on disputes related to the labor dispute between the Korea Federation of Auto Workers and the Seoul Bus Workers' Union (hereinafter referred to as the Bus Union) at 2 p.m. on this day.
The mediation meeting on this day will be attended by representatives of the bus union and the Seoul Bus Transport Business Association, a union of Seoul city bus transport companies, and Seoul Regional Labor Committee mediators will coordinate the positions of both sides.
The union has set the deadline for negotiations as this day and has announced that if negotiations fail, they will strike from the first round on the 16th.
So far, several rounds of negotiations have been held between labor and management, but they have not been able to narrow the difference in position and reach an agreement, so a long and fierce tug-of-war is expected in today's negotiations.
The two sides are unable to narrow their differences over how to apply the ordinary wage ruling.
The Supreme Court presented a new precedent that bonuses should be recognized as ordinary wages at the end of 2024, and the second trial ruling in the Dong-A Transportation ordinary wage lawsuit, which applied this Supreme Court precedent to a Seoul city bus company for the first time, was delivered in October last year.
It is reported that the company and the Seoul Metropolitan Government believed that the increase rate according to the purpose of the ruling was around 6-7%, and proposed an increase of 10.32% by adding an additional increase. This is similar to or slightly higher than other local governments.
On the other hand, the union sets the standard time for calculating ordinary wages at 176 hours in accordance with the purpose of the ruling and is demanding an additional 7.85% increase in hourly wage.
The business operator claims that if this proposal is accepted, if the normal wage increase (16.44%) and the hourly wage increase of 7.85% are combined, the annual salary of a No. 9 bus operator will rise from 68.7 million won to about 85.09 million won as of last year. In this case, more than 500 billion won will be invested every year, which will intensify financial pressure.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government is also expressing its position that it is difficult to accept the union's demands, saying that the union's wage increase plan will place a large burden on the management of Seoul's city buses, which operate on a semi-public system, and that this will inevitably end up being a burden for citizens.
As the court ruling on ordinary wage lawsuits by other transportation companies is scheduled to be made in court at the end of this year, the business operator and the city of Seoul are taking the position that they will first conclude wage-related negotiations this time and discuss the application of ordinary wage again according to the court ruling at the end of the year.
However, the union is not backing down, saying that since the Supreme Court ruling has already been issued, we should also discuss the recognition of normal wages at this time.
The city of Seoul has prepared emergency transportation measures in preparation for a city bus strike. In the event of a strike, up to 1,500 free shuttle buses, including charter buses, will be deployed to support the smooth movement of citizens. This is more than double the 700 units deployed during the bus strike in January of this year.
The city of Seoul held an emergency response meeting regarding the city bus strike this morning and requested that both labor and management reach an amicable wage agreement, while also reviewing emergency transportation measures.
Yeo Jang-kwon, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's transportation office, said, "Seoul City plans to use alternative transportation methods as much as possible to minimize inconvenience to citizens," and added, "We ask for understanding and concessions between labor and management so that negotiations can be concluded at a reasonable level that citizens can understand."
