Seoul subway union's final negotiations today... If they fail, there will be an all-out strike tomorrow

The labor union of the Seoul Transportation Corporation (which operates Seoul Subway Lines 1 to 8 and some sections of Line 9) is scheduled to hold final negotiations with the company at 3 p.m. on the 8th. A general strike will be carried out on the 9th depending on the results of the final negotiations.
It is expected that a decision will be made. The labor union is demanding that the company withdraw its plan to reduce its workforce, but the company says it is an unavoidable measure to overcome its business crisis. The claims of both labor and management are on parallel lines.
With this in mind, there is a growing possibility that a general strike will be carried out on the Seoul subway for the second consecutive year following last year. According to the Seoul Transportation Corporation today, the labor union and the company reached an agreement in the fourth round of negotiations on the 2nd of this month.
As the agreement was not reached, final negotiations are scheduled to take place at 3:00 pm today. The union is insisting on △abolition of reductions in manpower, △filling of safe manpower, △reorganization of the wage system, and △ strict adherence to two shifts in four groups.
They have been fighting for legal compliance since the 9th and are teasing the general strike on the 9th. The public corporation's labor union is opposed to the company's plan to reduce the workforce by 2,212 people (13.5% of staffing costs), citing concerns about safety in public places and other reasons.
However, the company has been emphasizing that there is no room for negotiation regarding the reduction in manpower in order to normalize business operations due to large-scale deficits. The cumulative deficit of the public corporation as of the end of 2022 is 17,680.8 billion won (
(approximately 2 trillion yen), and the capital eclipse rate reaches 61.9%. Last year, the union went on strike on November 30th, but negotiations were concluded on the same day, and the subway began operating normally from December 1st.
A public corporation official said, ``Even if the labor union goes on strike, the corporation will operate the subway normally during arrive-to-work hours based on the essential maintenance work system.''
We are continuing to research alternative methods for areas that will become congested due to reduced service."