Ulsan city bus strike looms as 95% of union members back walkout amid stalled talks

【Financial News Ulsan=Reporter Choi Soo-sang】 City bus strikes in Ulsan Metropolitan City are moving closer as this year's wage negotiations remain deadlocked. Despite Ulsan Metropolitan City's announcement of a plan to address unfunded retirement benefits, union members overwhelmingly supported industrial action, with more than 95% voting in favor.
According to Ulsan Metropolitan City and the Ulsan regional bus union under the National Federation of Automobile Transport Workers on the 26th, labor and management held seven rounds of talks from their first wage negotiation meeting on Jan. 27 through the 12th of this month, but failed to find common ground.
The union is demanding a 9% increase in the base hourly wage, an extension of the retirement age from 63 to 65, and a solution to the unfunded retirement benefits issue. The company side, meanwhile, has only offered a 2% increase in the base hourly wage.
In response, Ulsan Metropolitan City tried to persuade the union to avoid a strike by announcing a plan on the 25th to resolve the key issue of unfunded retirement benefits. The city plans to raise the subsidy ratio for bus companies' operating deficits from 97% to 98% this year, providing an additional 1.5 billion won, and then increase it to 100% from next year, adding another 4.5 billion won. Through this plan, the city says bus operators could set aside up to 6.5 billion won a year for retirement benefits, allowing the current 81.3 billion won in unfunded liabilities to be resolved over about 13 years.
However, the gap remains wide. The Ulsan city bus union is made up of unions from six local bus operators, including Ulsan Passenger, Namseong Passenger, Hansung Transportation, Eugene Bus, Hakseong Bus and Daewoo Passenger. These unions have been demanding that the six companies set aside 5 billion won a year each, or 30 billion won annually in total, for retirement reserves, leaving a significant gap from the city's proposed 6.5 billion won a year and 13-year resolution plan. The union is also calling on Ulsan Metropolitan City to take part directly in the negotiations, but the city has maintained its position that it is not a direct party to collective bargaining, making it unclear whether the financial support plan will actually lead to a settlement.
In the strike vote held before and after the announcement of the plan, 95.71% voted in favor of a strike. Of the 1,691 eligible members, 1,491 took part in the vote, a turnout of 88.17%, and 1,427 of them supported the strike.
With the strike vote approved, attention is now focused on the final labor dispute mediation meeting set for 3:30 p.m. on the 27th at the Ulsan Regional Labor Relations Commission. If labor and management fail to reach an agreement there and the commission concludes that the gap between the two sides is too wide, it may decide to suspend mediation, giving the union the legal right to strike. The union says it will walk out from the first bus on the 28th, the moment it secures that right, making the mediation outcome on the 27th effectively decisive.
If the strike becomes reality, service by 709 city buses operating on 108 routes in Ulsan Metropolitan City is expected to be completely suspended. Ulsan has no subway or other major public transit alternative, so a bus shutdown would directly affect residents.
To prepare, Ulsan Metropolitan City plans to lease 90 vehicles, including chartered buses, and deploy them on 27 major routes while operating an emergency transport response center. Ulsan also saw a city bus strike last year. Fortunately, labor and management reached a dramatic agreement just 19 hours after the strike began, restoring normal service.

[email protected] Choi Soo-sang Reporter