The labor and management of Seoul Metro, which operates Seoul Subway Lines 1 through 8, will hold last-minute negotiations on Thursday, one day before the unions’ planned general strike.

Seoul Metro said Thursday that the Seoul Transit Corporation Labor Union will sit down with management at the company’s headquarters in Seoul, followed by the No. 2 Seoul Metro Labor Union and Allbaleun, representing younger metro employees.

The key issues on the table this year are wage increases, restructuring and the scale of new hires. 

The unions argue that the government-set three percent wage increase for public institutions must be observed and that Seoul Metro must comply with a Supreme Court ruling requiring bonuses to be included in ordinary wages.

All three unions have warned that unless a deal is reached, they will launch a simultaneous general strike on Friday. 

Meanwhile, the union representing workers on Seoul Subway Line 9 called off a strike scheduled for Thursday after reaching a tentative deal with management through overnight negotiations.