Over 13,000 Employees Of Seoul Metro Strike To Protest Against Downsizing Plans - Reports

SEOUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2022) Around 13,000 employees of Seoul Metro went on strike on Wednesday to protest against downsizing plans due to the economic crisis, causing train delays and decreasing train operating rate, media reported.

According to the South Korean Yonhap news agency, two unions representing 13,000 employees or some 80% of the total workforce of the Seoul subway system announced a strike, which is the first of that kind since 2016. Employees are protesting against the operator's plans to downsize its workforce by around 1,500 people until 2026.

Although the subway operator initially proposed reconsidering the restructuring plan, the unions rejected the proposal citing the agreement of 2021, under which any "unnegotiated downsizing" is prohibited during a crisis.

To replace lacking workforce, Seoul Metro has mobilized retired employees and the ones who do not belong to any� union, as well as it plans to increase bus operations to mitigate the negative impact of the strike on the subway's operations. However, train operating rates are still expected to be lower during rush hours, it was reported.

The economic crisis has been the major driving force for protests and strikes in South Korea. Last week, the truck drivers' strike kicked off in South Korea amid soaring fuel prices. Drivers are calling on the government to expand the Safe Freight Rate minimum-pay system, which is set to expire at the end of 2022.