Subway Lines 1 to 8 forced strike; coordination with local labor committee breaks down - Seoul, South Korea

The general strike of the Seoul Transportation Corporation labor union, which operates subway lines 1 to 8 in Seoul, South Korea, has entered the countdown stage. Labor and management were unable to come to an agreement at the Seoul Regional Labor Committee, which resulted in
In March, a ``red light'' was turned on for normal operation of the Seoul subway. According to the Seoul Transportation Corporation Labor Union's bargaining team, the Transportation Corporation labor and management meeting will begin at 3:00 p.m.
The committee went to a final coordination meeting, but no consensus was reached and the coordination ended. If the coordination is completed, the coalition bargaining group will secure the right to legitimate disputes. As a result, the coalition bargaining group has 18
They are scheduled to hold a press conference in front of Seoul City Hall on Sunday to clarify their general strike policy. Prior to this, the Corporation and the United Negotiating Team held a total of 10 negotiations since the start of the first round of negotiations on July 11th.
(Three rounds of formal negotiations and seven rounds of working negotiations) were held, but the negotiations ultimately broke down, and on October 4, the federated bargaining team applied to the Seoul Regional Labor Commission to adjust the labor dispute.
Since then, the result of the vote for and against the "2023 Wage Collective Bargaining Dispute Action" held from the 12th to the 16th of this month was 73.4.
The strike was approved with a % approval rating. It was reported that at the coordination meeting that day, the two sides were on the same page regarding the issue of personnel reductions.
Currently, the public corporation is hiring more than 2,200 people in order to reduce the accumulated deficit and overcome management difficulties.
We are firmly committed to the position that gradual structural adjustment is necessary. The cumulative deficit of the Seoul Transportation Corporation was 17.608 trillion won (approximately 1.946 trillion yen) compared to last year. On the other hand, the union side
The company has objected to the plan, saying it is a unilateral plan to cut personnel. The government's position is that the proposed reduction in human resources based on outsourcing will lead to security threats and a decline in citizen services.
However, both labor and management are expected to continue behind-the-scenes negotiations until a strike begins. A public company official said, ``Even if the union
Even if the union goes on strike, the subway will continue to operate normally due to the public corporation's essential maintenance work system.''The union has teased that a strike will occur within the next month, but we plan to continue negotiations until then.''
"Definitely," he said. According to the essential maintenance system, subway trains operate normally during departure and departure times, and train operation rates during other times are maintained at a normal level of 80-85%.