With bus drivers in Seoul set to begin a general strike on Wednesday, labor and management will hold last-minute negotiations Tuesday. 

So far the Seoul Bus Labor Union and management have held nine rounds of negotiations and two meetings mediated by the National Labor Relations Commission, but they have yet to reach an agreement mainly due to differences over ordinary wages.

The union is asking that bonuses be included in ordinary wages in accordance with a Supreme Court decision in December last year. 

But management wants to overhaul the wage system to cut ordinary wages, arguing that wages would increase 25 percent if the union’s demands were met.

The union is insisting that a wage increase be negotiated first. 

If Tuesday’s negotiations fall through, the capital city’s intracity buses will likely stop running at the start of Wednesday. 

The Korean Automobile and Transport Workers’ Federation said if negotiations between management and bus unions in 21 other regions also collapse, drivers will go on strike in Busan, Changwon and Ulsan on Wednesday and drivers in South Jeolla Province and Gwangju will launch a general strike Thursday.