Railway workers union ends strike in 74 days to normalize services

Hoisting the banner to oppose performance-based salary system, Korea Railway Workers Union officially ended its 74-day strike from Sept. 27 to Dec. 9. Train operations will normalize phase-by-phase starting next Monday.

“Under the agreement on normalizing railway operations between the user and the union, union members who participated in strikes returned to their jobs since 2 p.m. on Friday,” said a Korean National Railroad official.

KORAIL plans to provide around three days of come-back program for employees from strike in order to give mental and physical comfort and safety trainings. Metropolitan subways and freight trains will operate as usual starting next Monday. Other passenger trains will also phase-in to return to its schedules by gradually raising operating rate on next Monday.

For a more secure operation, Korea Train Express (KTX) will maintain the 83 percent of the normal operations, and will return business-as-usual starting on Dec. 19 after thorough inspections. Once KTX operations are normalized, high-speed rail operations will increase by 43 percent compared to pre-strike schedules, with the Suseo High Speed Railway (SRT) beginning operations on Friday.

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, and would like to express our gratitude for your patience," KORAIL President Hong Soon-man said. "We will take this opportunity as a new growth engine to develop into a corporation cherished by the public.”

The government also welcomed the union’s decision to end their strike. “Though it was a belated decision, it is very fortunate that the union end their strike and decided to return to their workplaces," the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport said. "The government and KORAIL will make utmost efforts so that the operations normalize as soon as possible.”

While strike came to an end, seeds of conflict between the labor and the management still remain. The two parties have yet to find common grounds in solving performance-based salary system, which is the core issue. The petition for preliminary injunction on ceasing the effect on employment regulations related to the merit-based annual compensation is still pending in Daejeon District Court. Rulings are to be made later this month after the first hearing next Tuesday. Furthermore, the union may enter into another strike if the ruling favors them. Moreover, the labor and the management may undergo another round of discord over the penalty level on strike participants.

“We will hold our rights to strike against the new salary system and continue to deter it even after we are put back on the field," a union official said.

Jae-Young Kim redfoot@donga.com