Labor and management at six Ulsan city bus companies reached a tentative agreement at about 3:50 a.m. on the 28th, averting a strike that would have suspended all 709 buses across 108 routes. The pact includes a 5% hourly wage increase, a retirement age of 65 from 2028, a 1,000 Korean won increase in meal allowances and a cashless-bus pilot beginning in October. Ulsan City will provide 1.5 billion Korean won in additional support this year and about 4.5 billion Korean won annually from next year to help address the companies’ cumulative 81.3 billion Korean won in unfunded retirement benefits. The settlement followed an 11-hour-30-minute mediation session after seven rounds of negotiations and a strike vote approved by 95.71% of participating union members.