Rare bus driver pay strike causes commuter chaos in Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea – Thousands of bus drivers in Seoul went on strike Thursday over a wage dispute, with 97 percent of bus routes in the South Korean capital affected, their union said, sparking chaos for commuters during rush hour.

It is the first general strike by drivers since 2012, and comes after negotiations on pay collapsed early Thursday, with the drivers requesting a 12.7 percent hourly wage increase.

Talks will resume later in the day, a union spokesman told AFP, adding that “we cannot say at this point whether the strike will continue into tomorrow pending the outcome of the negotiations.”

The strike has left many bus stations empty as commuters flocked to the subway to get to work, with some caught off guard by the news.

“I wasn’t aware of the bus strike because I don’t follow the news closely,” Cho Min-sang told the Yonhap news agency. “I was puzzled because there were no bus schedules on the bus station screens.”

Yoo Jae-yeon, a 37-year-old AI industry researcher, told AFP she had switched to work from home Thursday after learning of the strike, but said she supported it.

“I am willing to take some inconvenience that could incur from the labour-management negotiations,” she said.

To mitigate the fallout, the Seoul city government has extended subway operating hours to 2 am and added more trains during peak commuting hours. It is also putting 480 non-union buses on the road.

“We will deploy every transportation means at our disposal to minimise the inconvenience to the people,” said Yoon Jong-jang, deputy director of the transportation office. — Agence France-Presse