Seoul Bus Strike Called Off in Dramatic Turn... Labor and Management Agree on 3.2% Wage Increase (Summary)

Strike Called Off After Wage Agreement Between Labor and Management
Seoul to Lift Emergency Transportation Measures

The wage negotiations between labor and management of Seoul city buses reached a last-minute dramatic agreement just two hours before the scheduled strike. All 7,000 buses in Seoul will operate as normal from the first departure of the day.

The Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission's mediation proposal agreed upon by the labor and management of Seoul city buses on the 16th. Provided by the Seoul City Bus Labor Union

The Seoul City Bus Labor Union, which is part of the National Automobile Labor Union Federation, decided to accept the mediation proposal from the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission on the early morning of September 16, following a vote among its members.

Labor and management began a mediation meeting at 2 p.m. the previous day and agreed to the proposal presented by the regional labor commission after about 12 hours of discussion.

With the union withdrawing its strike, the first city buses set to run from 4 a.m. on the 16th will operate as usual.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government also announced in a press release that, as a result of the wage negotiation agreement and the strike's cancellation, all city bus routes would run as normal from the first departure on the 16th.

The city added, "After continuous communication and mediation efforts by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, both labor and management were able to reach a compromise, including a 3.2% wage increase for 2026."

Under this agreement, the wage increase will be retroactively applied from February of this year and will remain in effect until the end of January next year.

As a result, emergency transportation measures that were prepared in anticipation of the strike have been lifted. Free shuttle buses operated by Seoul and the district governments will not be deployed, and the extended subway services that were planned will instead follow the usual schedule.

Previously, it had been expected that about 7,000 city buses, covering 390 routes operated by 64 bus companies in Seoul, would come to a halt as a result of the announced strike, raising concerns of commuter chaos during morning rush hour.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.