Gov't to activate emergency transport task force against planned rail strike

The government plans to activate an emergency transport task force this week to respond to a planned strike by unionized workers at the state-run Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL), officials said Monday. The task force will be headed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and operate around the clock from Tuesday until the strike ends. It will comprise the Korea Airport Corp. and the Korea Express Bus Transportation Association, as well as the local governments of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. If and when the strike begins, authorities plan to deploy all available substitute personnel to maintain train operations on major routes and expand alternative transportation options, such as express buses and domestic flights. The KORAIL labor union has vowed to stage the strike demanding better working conditions, including that performance-based bonuses be calculated at 100 percent of base pay, rather than the current 80 percent.