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| Unionized bus drivers plan to stage a strike May 15 if their employers fail to raise their pay before the 52-workhour week is implemented in July. Drivers are expected to lose up to 1 million won ($850) per month due to the new regulations. Yonhap |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Bus drivers are set to stage a nationwide strike May 15 unless companies promise to protect their livelihoods, as they claim their wages will be reduced significantly when the 52-hour workweek system is applied to them starting July.
However, company owners are calling on the central and local governments to make up for any shortfall in wages, but as they have yet to get a response, the possibility of a walkout is increasing.
According to the Korean Automobile and Transport Workers' Federation, 32,000 drivers from nine out of 11 cities and provinces held a vote on the strike, Wednesday and Thursday, with 96.6 percent in favor of it.
Drivers in Incheon and South Gyeongsang Province are planning to hold a vote in the near future.
The Moon Jae-in administration introduced the 52-hour workweek to stimulate consumption and generate growth. It was implemented for companies with more than 300 employees in July 2018, but the bus industry was given a one-year grace period.
Starting July, the maximum weekly hours for bus drivers will be reduced from 68 hours to 52, which could slash their income by over 1 million won ($850) per month due to a reduction in overtime pay. As a result, they are demanding pay hikes.
Bus companies have repeatedly asked the local and central governments to allow them to increase fares and for other financial support, claiming they cannot afford to cover labor costs and hire more bus drivers.
In Seoul, 89.3 percent of the 16,034 unionized drivers at 61 companies voted for the strike Thursday, while in Busan, 97 percent of 5,387 drivers at 33 companies approved of the strike Wednesday.
Drivers in Gyeonggi Province voted 96.2 percent in favor of the strike followed by Gwangju and South Chungcheong Province with 95 percent each, Ulsan with 87.7 percent and South Jeolla Province, 87.3 percent,.
As the support for a strike has prevailed, labor and management are required by law to hold further negotiations by Tuesday, with the unions plan to walkout Wednesday if their terms aren't met.
The unionized bus drivers are under the Korea Automobile and Transport Workers' Federation (KATWF), which held an emergency meeting Friday to discuss whether to hold a sympathy strike among other related issues.
The federation asked the government to take a more sincere stance on the bus industry dispute.
"The central government needs to act now to reduce work hours, improve bus transport safety and create more quality jobs," an official at the KATWF said.
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