17 bus drivers hired by a bus transport company in Pyeongchang take care of the passengers' services in 13 bus routes for 13 hours a day from 6 am to 7 pm. They work 23 to 26 days per month that makes the monthly average working hours reach over 300 hours. The bus transport industry is categorized as a special industry that is not regulated by the statutory 40 working hours a week.
Nevertheless, the wages of these bus drivers only hover around the national minimum wage, when the overtime is not included. When a driver, for example, work 312 hours for a month, he is only paid 2.2 million won(US$1,900) for the month.
The confrontation between bus drivers and the company erupted when the company demanded the cut in the incentives in January last year. In response to the company's offensive move, the union came up with a proposal in the collective bargaining last year to include the incentives for 'no accident' and 'continuation of service' in the collective agreement. The gulf between the union and management further widened, as the management flatly rejected the union's proposal and wanted to eliminate the incentives completely.
Bus drivers have been staging the walkout to call for the reduction of excessive working hours to guarantee the driving safety and the non-interference in the trade union activities for 53 days as of January 23. The union also demands the Pyeongchang county office to normalize the bus operation through the direct running without wasting tax and compromising the public transport safety.
reported by Yoon Ja-eun
translated by Kim Sung-jin