Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Subway unions in 6 cities consider joint strike
Commuters pack the platform of Sindorim Station in Seoul, July 9. Subway operator unions in the nation's six major cities, including Seoul, are threatening to go on strike in protest of restructuring plans. Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
Subway unions across the country are threatening to go on a general strike in solidarity with the Seoul union in protest against a proposed restructuring plan by the subway operator of the capital. In response to rising deficits, the contested plan includes employee layoffs and a wage freeze.
Members of the unions in the country's six major cities of Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Incheon and Gwangju will vote from Aug. 16 to 19 on whether to participate in the joint strike, according to the union of Seoul Metro, Sunday. This is the first time for these unions from different cities to push for a joint walkout.
Seoul Metro, which operates lines 1 to 8 in the capital, has been suffering rising deficits in recent years.
After two city government-affiliated corporations, one running lines 1 to 4 and the other lines 5 to 8, merged into Seoul Metro in May 2017, it posted a yearly deficit of around 500 billion won ($435 million) for three consecutive years.
In 2020, it recorded a deficit of 1.11 trillion won as ridership plummeted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the corporation is expected to see a 1.6 trillion won deficit, the biggest ever.
In response, Seoul Metro has proposed a restructuring plan including layoffs of 1,539 workers, or about 10 percent of the total workforce, reductions in other perks and a wage freeze.
The Seoul Metro union protested strongly, demanding withdrawal of the restructuring plan, implementation of feasible measures to resolve the financial crisis and countermeasures for the continuing deficit.
It said the main reasons for the operating loss are low subway fares which have been frozen for the past six years, discounts when transferring between modes of public transport, and the free subway ride policy for senior citizens aged 65 and older.
As the free rides issue is not just in Seoul, subway unions in the other five cities have decided to show solidarity through a joint action. The unions believe that a majority of their members will agree on the walkout, and plan to go on strike as early as September if the Seoul union fails to reach an agreement with management and the city government.
The Seoul union insisted that the central government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government should actively provide support to resolve the surging deficits.
"It's impossible to solve the financial crisis without support from Seoul City and the central government. The restructuring plan which requires the sacrifice of employees should not be a solution to this," the union said. “The responsibility should not be shifted to the employees.”
The Seoul Metropolitan Government, however, believes that the chronic deficit is attributable to lax management.
"Seoul Metro is demanding a fare hike without streamlining its management system," Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said at a press conference in May, adding that he does not consider a fare increase to be the solution to its financial difficulties.