Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
Fear lingers of another subway strike
Commuters get off the train at Gwanghwamun Station on Seoul Metro Line 5, Friday morning, the second day of the unionized subway workers' strike. Yonhap
By Jung Da-hyun
Seoul Metro's labor union heralds its plan for strike after CSAT
Although a two-day strike by unionized workers of Seoul Metro ended without a big commute disruption last week, the specter of another strike is still lingering as the workers have threatened to stage another walkout unless the company scraps its workforce reduction plan.
The strike deadline, set by the union, would be after Thursday when the nation holds the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT).
Seoul Metro operates subway lines 1 to 8 in addition to the Line 9 section between Sinnonhyeon Station and VHS Medical Center Station.
"Our struggle is not over yet. Let's be fully prepared to start a general strike if our demands are not met," union leader Myung Soon-pil said, Friday, adding the exact date of the second strike will be determined later.
The recent strike, initiated by the largest of the three labor unions of Seoul Metro, took place on Thursday and Friday after 11 rounds of negotiations on the plans for labor force reduction and outsourcing safety workers had fallen through.
However, thanks to an agreement on essential service maintenance, the subway operated at its usual level during the morning rush hour, but the operational rate dropped during the evening rush hour, causing a little inconvenience to citizens during the two-day strike.
While the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Metro aimed for an 87 percent operational rate, the actual rate was approximately 75 percent.
The primary cause of the strike is a difference of opinions regarding the company's workforce reduction plan.
As part of its management strategy, Seoul Metro plans to lay off 2,211 workers by 2026 to address its chronic deficit, which has reached a cumulative 18.4 trillion won ($14 billion) as of the end of this year.
The company also intends to outsource some safety work as part of its plan to normalize operations.
However, the union members claim that the reduction plan poses a direct threat to citizens' safety and will result in service degradation. They express dissatisfaction with prioritizing large-scale personnel reduction over alternative management plans.
In the recent labor-management negotiations, Seoul Metro proposed a compromise, including a plan to recalculate human resources under mutual agreement and a new recruitment plan for on-site safety personnel.
The union's insistence on large-scale recruitment prevented an agreement, leading to the breakdown of negotiations.
As the strike commenced on Thursday, the company announced the suspension of all new hiring plans scheduled for the second half of the year.
According to a union official, the warning strike conducted on Thursday was aimed to prompt a "stance change" from both the company and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which runs Seoul Metro.
In a bid to ensure safe operations during the special transportation period for the CSAT, unionized workers have announced their commitment to doing their utmost. They also expressed their continuous efforts to urge a change in the positions of both the city government and the company.
However, if Seoul Metro adheres to its downsizing plan, the union plans to initiate a second full-scale strike after the college entrance exam.
Meanwhile, some say that the union's solidarity has weakened compared to the previous year.
The second-largest union representing the subway operators opted out of a collective action at the last minute, citing differences in negotiating terms with the larger union.
According to an official of the second-largest union, they saw a draft regarding the readjustment of personnel, agreed upon by labor and management, for the remaining reduction of around 1,500 personnel until 2026 as a significant breakthrough.