Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation on Strike From December 23

The Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation operating lines 5 to 8 in Seoul will wage a general strike from December 23 after it failed to reach an agreement on salaries and collective bargaining.

On December 17, the labor union held a press conference and announced intentions to go on strike from December 23 as the negotiations with the management on pay raises, extension of health holidays, and extension of retirement age ended in a rupture.

From December 4 to 6, the labor union conducted a strike vote on all union members and gained the approval of 57.8 percent of the total union members. However, it will be illegal for the labor union to wage a strike as it did not go through the mediation process of the Labor Relations Commission which is mandatory by law.

The labor union is demanding an 11 percent increase in total wage, one additional health holiday per month, three-year extension of retirement age, and reinstatement of punished and fired employees.

The management insists that a pay raise of more than five percent will not be possible according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, and most of other requirements will also be difficult to approve.

The labor union’s Education and PR Director Park Chan-il said, “Before we enter a strike, we are considering the implementation of ‘Safe Operation’ by halting trains for thirty seconds in every station.” He added that the union is always willing to resume dialogue if the management presents more developed negotiation measures.

The Seoul city government and the corporation will minimize the inconvenience of the citizens once the union wages a strike by utilizing substitute workers, operating more buses and deregulating taxi non-driving days.

For three days from December 19, the Korean Railway Workers’ Union (KRWU) will go on a so-called “keep-to-the-law strike” by overly abiding by the safety regulations to cause delays in operation.

On December 17, the KRWU announced that negotiation on withdrawal of provisional seizure on union fees and charges on 1030 union members, reinstatement of 11 fired employees, and recruitment of additional workers failed to reach an agreement. The union said it will first wage a “keep-to-the-law strike” and further strengthen the strike if the management shows no change in position.

The strike is expected to delay passenger and cargo trains on Kyungbu line, Honam line, and Janghang line. However, citizens taking the routes operated by the Korean National Railroad are not likely to have any problems as the trains will operate normally during the rush hours.

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