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Gyeonggi bus drivers call off strike after last-minute wage agreement

Published: 01 Oct. 2025, 09:01 Updated: 01 Oct. 2025, 20:49

The labor union council of bus drivers in Gyeonggi negotiate with employers during a final mediation session at the Gyeonggi Labor Relations Commission in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 30. [NEWS1]

A strike planned by bus drivers in Gyeonggi was called off on Wednesday after union and management representatives reached a last-minute wage deal following overnight negotiations.

The labor union council of bus drivers in Gyeonggi — which represents about 90 percent of bus drivers in the province — reached an agreement with the Gyeonggi Bus Transportation Business Association, the employers' group, during a final mediation session at the Gyeonggi Labor Relations Commission.

The mediation began at 4 p.m. Tuesday and continued for 14 hours until 6 a.m. Wednesday. The original deadline for talks was midnight, but both sides agreed to extend negotiations until early morning to try to avoid a walkout.

As a result of the agreement, the union withdrew its plan to begin a full-scale strike with the day’s first scheduled departures. All routes resumed normal operations.

Under the deal, semipublic bus routes will see an 8.5 percent wage increase. For privately operated routes, wages will increase by 400,000 won ($285) per month. To improve working conditions for drivers on private routes — who have faced relatively poor treatment — Gyeonggi agreed to standardize wages and shift schedules across both systems starting Jan. 1, 2027.

However, four companies operating metropolitan buses under the Metropolitan Transportation Commission — Kimpo Transportation, Sunjin Bus, Sunjin Sangun and Paju Yeogaek — did not reach an agreement due to their internal wage policies. Mediation ended without resolution. Still, the companies decided to suspend the planned strike and will continue negotiations with management and pursue legal measures to seek improvements.

The Gyeonggi bus workers' council represents drivers from 50 companies operating a total of around 10,000 buses. That includes approximately 2,300 semipublic buses, 7,100 privately operated buses and 800 intercity buses. The council's 19,000 members account for about 90 percent of all bus drivers in the province.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]