Railroad union agrees to end months-long strike

DAEJEON, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) — Unionized railway workers of South Korea decided to end their some 70 days-long strike Wednesday after they reached an agreement in wage negotiations with management.

The state-run Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) said it concluded a draft deal with its labor union after two days of intensive negotiations. Under the tentative deal, they agreed to decide the laborers’ wages within the boundary of the guidelines provided by the government, according to KORAIL. It declined to give further details.

The KORAIL union launched a joint strike with subway services unions on Sept. 27 in protest of the government’s push for a performance-based pay system. The subway workers ended their strikes within a few days.

The merit pay system is one of the Park Geun-hye administration’s key policies to boost labor flexibility to create more jobs, especially for youth. Labor unions oppose the scheme, worrying that it could be used to allow companies to fire employees more easily and worsen working conditions.

The longest-ever railway strike affected train operations but failed to resonate with the public, as the country has been gripped by an influence-peddling scandal surrounding the president and her confidante.

The labor union said the agreement will be put up for a vote by its members for final approval, adding they will continue with their fight against the merit-based pay system.

“We deeply apologize for causing inconveniences to the public,” a KORAIL official said. “We will turn over a new leaf based on the latest struggle and challenges and focus on securing the railroad safety and normalization of the operation.”

A member of the labor union said the trains are expected to begin operating normally starting this week.

On-the-job training for substitute workers is under way at a rail yard in Busan on Oct. 26, 2016, when the ongoing strike by unionized railway workers marked its 30th day, the longest-ever in railway strike history.