Major rail service disruptions due Tuesday as workers go on strike
Officials of Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit, the operator of subway lines 5 to 8 in Seoul, display revised operating schedules at Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul, Monday, as unions of subway and railroad operators will go on strike Tuesday in protest of the new government-initiated performance-based salary system. / Yonhap
By Lee Kyung-min, Hong Dam-young
Unions of subways and railroad workers will launch a joint strike nationwide today to protest the government-initiated performance-based salary system.
This is the first time in 22 years that the subway and railway unions have walked out together.
While affected municipalities and subway and railway operators say there will be no major disruption of public transportation because they have secured replacement workers, public inconvenience and logistics damage is inevitable if the strike becomes protracted.
The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union, to which most subway and railway unions belong, said its members will go on strike to prevent the imposition of the merit pay system, which it claims will cause excessive competition among workers and eventually cause damage to the public.
“The Park Geun-hye administration is pushing ahead with the system without workers’ consent,” the union said in a press briefing in Seoul. “How long to continue the strike depends on how the government reacts.”
An official from the Korean Railway Workers’ Union (KRWU) said that the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL), the state-run railroad operator, held a board meeting in May and revised the company’s salary rules unilaterally to adopt the performance-based system despite the union’s opposition.
“Seventy percent of union members voted for the collective action. We demand that KORAIL come to the negotiating table instead of asserting their unilateral decision,” he said.
KORAIL said the strike may not affect operations of KTX and subways in the metropolitan area because about 65 percent of the normal workforce will be on the duty.
But the number of operations of Saemaul and Mugungwha trains is likely to be cut by 40 percent compared to normal and that of cargo trains, by 70 percent. If the walkout is extended, logistics damage is expected.
Labor unions of Seoul’s two subway operators ― Seoul Metro running lines Nos. 1 to 4 and Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit running lines Nos. 5 to 8 ― will also walk out, while that for line No. 9 will not participate because they belong to a private operator.
Seoul City said it has secured enough manpower to operate the subway lines during busy commuting hours. But for hours in the afternoon, it said it will have to reduce the number of operations by 15-20 percent.
“We are running an emergency task force to help minimize the inconvenience to passengers. Substitute workers will be on duty until next Monday,” a city government official said.
“But if the strike continues for more than a week, the daytime operations may be cut more, up to 30 percent. To cope we will extend bus operation hours.”