'Demands a 3.5% Wage Increase,' Seoul Metro Union Warns of General Strike on Nov. 25

Union Says It Will Begin Work-to-Rule Campaign on Nov. 20

Seoul Metro's largest labor union, the Seoul Metro Labor Union, said it would launch a general strike on Nov. 25 if its demands for additional staffing and wage increases are not accepted.

Yonhap News Agency

The union announced its plans at a rally for workplace leaders held on Nov. 10 in front of the annex of the Seoul Metropolitan Council. At the rally, union representatives issued strike guidelines and said they would begin a work-to-rule campaign starting with the day shift on Nov. 20.

The union also stressed that it would launch an indefinite, full-scale general strike on Nov. 25 if the company and the Seoul Metropolitan Government do not take a more positive stance.

Seoul Metro operates all sections of Seoul Subway Lines 1 through 8, as well as Sections 2 and 3 of Line 9.

Earlier, wage negotiations between the union and management broke down, prompting the union to file for labor-dispute mediation with the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission in October. The two sides failed to narrow their differences during mediation, and a decision to suspend the mediation was issued on Nov. 2.

In this year's wage negotiations, the union is seeking a 3.5% wage increase in line with government guidelines, the withdrawal of a plan to cut 2,212 jobs, and the hiring of 1,313 additional workers by the end of the year. It also called for institutional reforms, including national government funding for public service costs and mandatory two-person work teams in the field.

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