This June 10 file photo shows town buses parked at a bus terminal in Seoul. Korea's two major labor organizations have aired mixed views on the idea of permitting foreigners to work as bus drivers as one aligns itself more closely with non-Korean workers. Newsis

Korea's largest labor organizations have aired mixed views on the idea of allowing foreigners to work as bus drivers, as one aligns more closely with non-Korean workers.

Speaking to The Korea Times on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), an umbrella labor union with more than 1.2 million members, said the union is “not opposed to” the proposal to allow foreign workers to drive village (town) buses in Seoul.

This comes as the proposal is being reviewed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor as it moves to raise the proportion of foreign workers in the country's workforce in response to growing labor shortages across many industry sectors.

“We are basically not opposed to hiring foreign drivers. But we believe, (if the government wants to hire them), it should give them the same labor rights enjoyed by Korean workers,” the spokesperson said. “But if you look at the current situation, the village bus industry has a labor shortage issue because wages are low and labor intensity is very high. We think these problems need to be addressed first (before the introduction of the policy).”

The organization's careful, balanced approach to the issue of protecting the rights of Korean members and foreign workers appears incompatible with that of the Korea Automobile and Transport Workers' Federation, a group under another influential umbrella labor union with more than 1.3 million members, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions.

In a statement on Tuesday, the group expressed its strong objection to hiring non-Korean bus drivers, demanding the ministry and the Seoul Metropolitan Government drop the “cost-centered” approach immediately.

“It is surprising and regrettable that the city government in Seoul came up with the policy to hire foreign workers who would be willing to accept low wages and poor working conditions instead of improving the conditions to attract quality (Korean) drivers,” it said. “We, 100,000 members of Korea Automobile and Transport Workers' Federation, clearly reject it.”

Major labor organizations here have long opposed the policy direction of importing more foreign workers, who they viewed as potential competitors in job markets. But in recent years, this unity has shown signs of fractures, with some moving to embrace foreign members and other liberal principles more aggressively. In recent months, the KCTU even attempted to champion undocumented foreigners here, holding rallies in support of them and calling for the government to stop deporting them.

Also known as “maeul buses,” village buses operate on short routes, connecting passengers to major bus stops and subway stations. But for many drivers, working at a maeul bus firm is deemed as a stepping stone to employment at larger, better-paying bus companies, which contributes to the particularly acute driver shortage faced by town bus operators.

The bus driver proposal follows the city government program of hiring 100 Filipino workers as caregivers. The central and local governments plan to expand that program as a national project next year, aiming to expand the number to 1,200 in collaboration with more partner countries.

A ministry director who handles the management of foreign workers said nothing has been determined in regard to the bus driver proposal. She said the ministry will consider many factors such as the potential impact on the village industry and Korean drivers before making a decision.