Seoul's city bus union sets 9 p.m. Tuesday deadline for strike

Seoul's unionized city bus workers said Tuesday they will negotiate only until 9 p.m. and start a general strike Wednesday morning if talks fail. The dispute centers on whether ordinary wages should be calculated using 176 monthly work hours after regular bonuses are included. The union says it is willing to settle if that standard is recognized, while bus companies and the Seoul city government oppose the demand.

The union plans to begin the strike with the first buses at 4 a.m. on Wednesday if no agreement is reached by 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Unionized workers are demanding that ordinary wages be calculated based on 176 monthly work hours and are seeking a 7.85 percent wage increase.

The Seoul city government says the union's proposal would effectively amount to about a 16 percent wage increase.

Yoo Jae-ho, deputy secretary-general of the Seoul Bus Workers' Union, said the union is not insisting on a 7.85 percent raise if the 176-hour standard is accepted.

The city estimates that a 1 percent wage increase would add about 14 billion won in annual costs and that meeting all union demands could double the annual deficit to around 1 trillion won.

Published Sep 15, 2026 4:56 pm KST

Representatives of Seoul's city bus companies and unionized bus workers shake hands before holding wage negotiations at the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission, Tuesday. Yonhap

Seoul's unionized city bus workers said Tuesday that they will continue negotiations only until 9 p.m. and launch a general strike the following morning if the talks fail.

Unionized city bus workers and bus companies have been locked in a dispute over how to calculate the hourly wage rate after including regular bonuses in ordinary wages.

The union has called for calculating ordinary wages based on 176 monthly work hours and raising wages by 7.85 percent. However, bus companies and the Seoul city government have rejected the demand, saying the proposed calculation would effectively result in a wage increase of approximately 16 percent.

The union is threatening to stage a general strike, starting with the first buses at 4 a.m. on Wednesday if no agreement is reached by 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Yoo Jae-ho, deputy secretary-general of the Seoul Bus Workers' Union, said in a press briefing that the union is not insisting on a 7.85 percent wage increase and is willing to reach an agreement if the 176 monthly work hour standard is recognized.

"Some other regions have implemented wage increases of over 5 percent so we can use that as a benchmark to narrow the gap. We are not going on strike simply because we cannot lower the rate by even 0.1 percentage point," Yoo said.

He also refuted the management's claim that accepting the union's demands would raise bus drivers' annual salaries to 85 million won ($62,500), saying their average annual salary is estimated at 59 million won this year.

City buses in Seoul and other big cities nationwide are operated under a semi-public management system, in which bus companies are in charge of bus operations and the municipal governments cover their losses.

The Seoul city government estimates that a 1 percent wage increase would result in approximately 14 billion won in additional annual costs and that accepting all of the union's demands could double the city bus system's annual deficit to about 1 trillion won.

首尔公交车工会周二表示，谈判只持续到晚上9点，如果谈判失败，将于周三上午开始总罢工。争议的焦点在于，在计入常规奖金后，普通工资是否应按每月176个工作小时计算。工会表示，如果这一标准得到认可，他们愿意达成协议，但公交公司和首尔市政府反对这一要求。

如果到周二晚上 9 点仍未达成协议，工会计划从周三凌晨 4 点开始罢工，届时首班车也将发车。

工会成员要求按每月 176 个工作小时计算普通工资，并要求加薪 7.85%。

首尔市政府表示，工会的提议实际上相当于工资上涨约16%。

首尔巴士工人联合会副秘书长柳在浩表示，如果接受 176 小时的工作时长标准，工会不会坚持要求加薪 7.85%。

该市估计，工资上涨 1% 将使每年的成本增加约 140 亿韩元，而满足工会的所有要求可能会使年度赤字翻一番，达到约 1 万亿韩元。

发布于2026年9月15日下午4:56（韩国标准时间）

周二，首尔市公交车公司代表和公交车工会成员在首尔地方劳动关系委员会举行工资谈判前握手致意。（韩联社）

首尔公交车工会成员周二表示，他们只会继续谈判到晚上9点，如果谈判失败，他们将在第二天早上发起总罢工。

城市公交车工会成员和公交公司就如何在普通工资中加入定期奖金后计算小时工资率的问题陷入了争论。

工会要求将正常工资按每月176小时工作制计算，并提高7.85%。然而，公交公司和首尔市政府拒绝了这一要求，称该计算方法实际上会导致工资上涨约16%。

工会威胁称，如果周二晚上 9 点前未能达成协议，他们将从周三凌晨 4 点首班车开始举行总罢工。

首尔巴士工人联合会副秘书长柳在浩在新闻发布会上表示，该工会并不坚持要求7.85%的工资增长，如果每月176小时的工作标准得到承认，他们愿意达成协议。

“其他一些地区已经实施了超过5%的工资增长，我们可以以此为基准来缩小差距。我们不会因为无法将工资涨幅降低哪怕0.1个百分点就罢工，”Yoo说道。

他还驳斥了管理层的说法，即接受工会的要求将使公交车司机的年薪提高到 8500 万韩元（62500 美元），称他们今年的平均年薪估计为 5900 万韩元。

首尔和全国其他大城市的城市公交车采用半公共管理制度运营，公交公司负责公交车运营，市政府承担其亏损。

首尔市政府估计，工资上涨 1% 将导致每年额外支出约 140 亿韩元，而接受工会的所有要求可能会使城市公交系统的年度赤字翻一番，达到约 1 万亿韩元。