Lawmaker Moves to Ban Overtime for Bus Drivers | Be Korea-savvy

Lawmaker Moves to Ban Overtime for Bus Drivers


Under the current law, it’s only stipulated that drivers working eight hours per day must have a break, a clause which can be abused by transport companies to make drivers work up to 16 hours. (Image: Yonhap)

Under the current law, it’s only stipulated that drivers working eight hours per day must have a break, a clause which can be abused by transport companies to make drivers work up to 16 hours. (Image: Yonhap)

SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean lawmaker has proposed a bill that prohibits bus drivers from working more than 10 hours per day, following criticism of the poor working conditions in the public transport industry.

The transport reform bill, which was put forward by Yoon Jong-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, not only puts a cap on the maximum working hours per day for bus drivers, but also protects their right to rest by hitting companies with fines and revoking their licenses when the terms are breached.

A South Korean lawmaker has proposed a bill that prohibits bus drivers from working more than 10 hours per day, following criticism of the poor working conditions in the public transport industry. (Image: Yonhap)

A South Korean lawmaker has proposed a bill that prohibits bus drivers from working more than 10 hours per day, following criticism of the poor working conditions in the public transport industry. (Image: Yonhap)

Under the current law, it’s only stipulated that drivers working eight hours per day must have a break, a clause which can be abused by transport companies to make drivers work up to 16 hours.

In Europe and the U.S., bus drivers are only allowed work for nine and ten hours per day, respectively.

The transport reform bill, which was put forward by Yoon Jong-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, not only puts a cap on the maximum working hours per day for bus drivers, but also protects their right to rest by hitting companies with fines and revoking their licenses when the terms are breached. (Image: Yonhap)

The transport reform bill, which was put forward by Yoon Jong-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, not only puts a cap on the maximum working hours per day for bus drivers, but also protects their right to rest by hitting companies with fines and revoking their licenses when the terms are breached. (Image: Yonhap)

“In Europe and the U.S., the maximum working hours for transport workers are regulated. Guaranteeing break time for bus drivers is the least we could do to improve working conditions as well as securing the safety of the public,” Yoon said.

Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>