Seoul subway teases “all-out strike” on November 9th

The labor union of Seoul Transportation Corporation, which operates Seoul Subway Lines 1 to 8, has teased a general strike on the 9th of next month, demanding that the company withdraw its plan to reduce its workforce. If this strike becomes a reality, it will be a continuation of last year's
This will be the second year in a row that they will go on strike. The joint negotiation team of the Seoul Transportation Corporation Labor Union held a press conference in front of Seoul City Hall around 10 a.m. on the 18th, and announced the strike schedule and future plans.
Regarding the manpower reduction plan, Hyun Jeong-hee, chairman of the United Democratic Union of Public Transportation Workers' Union, said, ``Despite last year's Itaewon accident, Seoul City is concerned about the lives of Seoul citizens and workers.''
``I think Mayor Oh Sehun will not carry out forced restructuring through labor-management agreements in 2021 and 2022.'' agreement
They're even ignoring me," he said in a raised voice. The government also stated that ``Seoul City's workforce reduction and restructuring plan threatens the safety of citizens and workers, and degrades the quality of public services.''
"We will not be able to prevent the Seoul Transportation Corporation from going on strike if we do not hire 771 people, the minimum safe workforce, this year."
A joint bargaining group made up of the Democratic Federation of Labor and the Korean Federation of Labor held a meeting with the Seoul Regional Labor Committee yesterday.
A final coordination meeting was held with the company, but no agreement could be reached. The union held a vote for or against the strike from the 12th to the 16th of this month, and it was approved with a 73.4% approval rate.
Both labor and management are at odds over the issue of reduced manpower. The company, which has been suffering from large-scale deficits, has taken the position that it is unavoidable to reduce the workforce in order to normalize business operations. The company is in the red
In order to overcome this situation, it was reported that the government has proposed a plan to reduce the number of employees by 2,211 by 2026. This amounts to approximately 13.5% of the corporation's capacity.
The union has demanded that the plan be withdrawn, arguing that an unreasonable reduction in manpower could directly lead to safety issues.
There is. However, in order to minimize the inconvenience to citizens caused by the strike, the coalition bargaining team will carry out the strike based on the essential maintenance work agreement concluded with the public corporation.
If we go on strike based on the agreement, the weekday service rate will be 53.5% (Line 1) depending on the route.
79.8% (Lines 5 to 8). The operating rate on public holidays is 50% for Lines 1 to 8. On the other hand, the MZ generation (Millennials and Z generation, born between 1980 and 2000) is considered to be the main focus.
The No. 3 labor union, Orbarun (Correct) Labor Union, has a policy of not supporting the strike.