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| A bus with a poster at its front that reads "emergency operation due to bus drivers' walkout" arrives at a bus stop in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Yonhap |
Unionized bus drivers in the southeastern city of Changwon decided Wednesday to resume work, ending their one-day walkout to demand higher pay and an extension of the retirement age.
The council of labor unions of nine companies operating city buses in the industrial city, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, started the walkout at around 5 a.m.
After hours of negotiations with the management, mediated by the city's Regional Labor Relations Commission, in the afternoon, the drivers decided to resume normal operation at 5 a.m. Thursday, according to sources well informed of the situation.
An agreement over the two issues, however, has not yet been reached with the management.
"The labor and the management have agreed to withdraw the strike first after agreeing that the strike of city buses has caused discomfort for the citizens," said a Changwon city government official who asked not to be named, adding the talks on the agreement will continue.
The nine companies operate 724 buses, 93.4 percent of all intra-city buses in Changwon.
The workers demanded a 7.4 percent increase in their wages, an extension of the retirement age to 65 and other compensations.
The two sides agreed on a 3.5 percent pay hike but failed to resolve other issues after 14 hours of talks mediated by the commission. (Yonhap)
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