We start with a threatened bus strike in South Korea that has been averted after marathon talks that went through the night..<br />A mass walkout of drivers would've caused commuting chaos today,... so people heading to work this morning breathed a sigh of relief.<br />Bus drivers had been demanding higher wages and better working conditions. <br />Yoon Jung-min has details. <br />Major bus unions across South Korea, including those in Seoul, reached a deal with management, most of them overnight, after heated, hours-long negotiations that started on Tuesday afternoon.<br />They agreed to a salary hike of 3-point-6 percent for drivers and to gradually extend the retirement age by two years from 61 to 63.<br />Bus unions in most regions,... including Busan, Incheon, Chungcheong-do Province and Jeolla-do Province, reached a deal either overnight or a day earlier.<br />Those based in Gyeonggi-do Province couldn't completely reach a deal, but decided to delay the strike until the end of May, while continuing dialogue with management.<br />Just a day earlier, the transport ministry announced that the government will increase bus fares by 200 Korean won, or about seventeen cents, starting with routes in Gyeonggi-do Province sometime in September.<br />The government will also implement a semi-public bus management system, which means the buses will be managed partially by the government.<br />The bus unions had been demanding a wage hike for drivers and more support from the government,... claiming they will be paid less if work hours decrease due to the mandatory 52-hour workweek system.<br />The government cut the maximum work hours from 68 to 52 per week last year, and companies with more than 300 employees must abide by the rule. <br />Bus companies were granted a one-year grace period, which expires in July.<br />While most of the drivers' concerns are likely be lifted as they were granted a wage hike, an extra burden on the public, especially those in the lower income brackets, seems inevitable as bus fares will go up in many cities.<br />Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News. <br />
