Gyeonggi Province bus strike looms following 97.7% union vote

Bus drivers in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, have approved a strike with a 97.7% majority, threatening to halt services starting from the first bus on the 30th of this month. If the strike proceeds, approximately 4,130 buses across 854 routes and 29 companies—including major cities like Suwon, Yongin, Goyang, and Seongnam—will stop operating, potentially causing widespread transportation chaos in the Seoul metropolitan area.

The labor union is demanding the fulfillment of a previous agreement to equalize wages with Seoul bus drivers by 2026. Specifically, they are seeking wage increases of 21.56% for semi-public routes and 30% for privately operated routes. Additionally, the union is calling for reduced working hours, citing that their annual workload of 2,400 hours is 1.4 times the national average.

Management and local authorities have cited deteriorating financial conditions and accumulated deficits as reasons for resisting these demands, with some employers advocating for a wage freeze on private routes. The final mediation meeting scheduled for the 29th at the Gyeonggi Provincial Labor Relations Commission will serve as the critical turning point to determine whether a strike will occur.