The Seoul city bus union plans to begin a full-scale strike with the first buses on Sept. 16 if mediation with operators fails, following the collapse of nine rounds of collective bargaining since March. The union sought mediation from the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission after talks with the Seoul Bus Transport Business Association broke down. It plans mediation sessions on the 9th and 15th and a labor-dispute vote on the 11th; if the 15-day mediation period ends without agreement, the union will be legally able to strike. The central dispute is whether ordinary wages should be calculated using 176 or 209 standard monthly working hours when regular bonuses are included. The union cites the Supreme Court’s April ruling in the Dongah Unsu case in support of the 176-hour standard. Management has proposed wage freezes, eliminating bonuses and holiday allowances, and retroactively applying the 209-hour standard, according to the union. Seoul operates its bus network through a public-private partnership system and covers deficits from the city budget. The city estimates that adopting the union’s requested calculation would require about 180 billion Korean won in additional annual funding.