Seoul’s city bus union launched a full strike starting with the first buses early Tuesday morning after last-minute wage talks with management collapsed overnight, causing commuting disruptions amid a severe cold wave. Negotiations between the union and management lasted more than 10 hours and continued past midnight under mediation by the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission. Despite extending talks beyond a self-imposed deadline, the two sides failed to reach an agreement. The union proceeded with a strike from 4 a.m., affecting all 18,700 union members across 64 bus companies. The dispute centers on how to apply a Supreme Court ruling that recognized bonuses as part of ordinary wages. Management proposed revising the wage system by folding bonuses into base pay and offered a wage increase in the low double-digit range. The union rejected any wage system overhaul, instead demanding a 3 percent pay raise this year and an extension of the retirement age to 65. Management countered that the proposal could result in an effective wage increase of nearly 20 percent, calling the deman
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