More than Half of Drivers Participate in Strike… Reduced Services on 46 Routes
Despite Transition to Lawful Protest over Memorial Day Weekend
No Agreement Between Union and Management, Strike Resumed
Passengers Frustrated, “Waited 30 Minutes to Finally Get On”
City Struggles with Measures to Ease Subway Congestion
“Until When” Citizen Inconvenience Increasing
On the 9th, Lee, a 30-something office worker who commutes by city bus, left home 40 minutes earlier than usual after hearing news of the city bus strike. At a bus stop in Jinwol-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju, where Lee arrived, about 20 people who hadn’t managed to catch a bus were anxiously waiting. “I could usually catch a bus after waiting about 10 minutes…” Lee waited 30 minutes that day to finally board a crowded bus. The electronic display at the bus stop, showing bus arrivals, indicated that most buses had a waiting time of over 20 minutes.
As the Gwangju city bus union resumed its strike on that day, commuters faced significant inconvenience. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ Gwangju region bus union commenced the strike from the first buses that morning. More than half of the city bus drivers, approximately 1,400 union members out of 2,400 drivers, participated in the strike. With over half the drivers joining the strike, services on 46 out of 102 routes were reduced, and 5 routes were not operating. That day, only 883 city buses were running, which is over 110 fewer than the usual 1,000.
On the 5th of the month, the union initiated a full-scale strike but shifted to a lawful protest during the Memorial Day holiday, only to resume the full strike again on the 9th. During the lawful protest period, the union demanded a response from the management and Gwangju City regarding their proposals. Unable to reach an agreement, they resumed the strike and began a 24-hour sit-in protest in tents in front of Gwangju City Hall from the previous day. The union is demanding an 8.2% salary increase and an extension of the retirement age from 61 to 65. They maintain a strong stance, unwilling to retreat from their demands.
Gwangju City plans to maintain an 80% operation rate by deploying non-union drivers. Additionally, they are increasing the subway service frequency by 12 times and focusing on dispatching taxis during rush hours to minimize citizen inconvenience. Despite these measures by the city, the inconvenience during commutes hasn’t significantly decreased. Choi (45), waiting at the bus stop, said, “I have a meeting since it’s Monday, and I can’t afford to be late again,” and took a taxi.
The few citizens who managed to catch a bus had to endure overcrowded conditions due to the reduced service. Park (53) said, “Usually, passengers would board across three buses, but they all boarded at once, making it impossible to move inside the bus,” and expressed concerns about how to commute continuously under these conditions.
Additionally, some bus stops did not have notices about delays due to the bus strike, leading to frustration from citizens who were late in learning about the strike. Kim (59) said, “I found out about the strike by asking people around why the bus wasn’t coming,” and added, “Living in an area with few buses, it’s daunting to have to walk.”