Gangnam-gu Office Union: "Flexible Work System at Community Service Centers Before General Election... Stop Bureaucratic Administration!"

On the 25th, Im Seong-cheol, head of the Gangnam-gu Office branch of the Integrated Labor Union, posted on the union bulletin board titled "Stop Desk Administration (卓上行政) and Temporarily Suspend the Flexible Work System," sharply criticizing the General Affairs Division of the district office for planning to implement the flexible work system even for the Dong office staff ahead of the April 15 general election, stating, "The district office ignores the characteristics and situations of each department to meet quotas and forces the Dong community center to comply with the distribution ratio and personnel allocation."

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The Gangnam-gu branch of the Integrated Public Officials Union (Branch Chief Im Seong-cheol) has drawn attention by raising issues regarding personnel management due to the implementation of a flexible work system extending even to employees at the district community centers amid the COVID-19 crisis and ahead of the April 15 general election.

On the 25th, Branch Chief Im posted on the union bulletin board a message titled "Stop Desk-bound Administration (卓上行政) and Temporarily Suspend the Flexible Work System."

Im stated, "At a time when the entire nation is trembling with anxiety over COVID-19 and the number of confirmed cases is not subsiding, the election is being pushed forward," adding, "In that case, the General Affairs Department must make every effort to support the district community centers, especially the Resident Autonomy Division, to ensure the election proceeds smoothly."

He continued, "Due to the ongoing implementation of the flexible work system, I voiced criticism to the head of the Autonomous Administration Team in the team leader KakaoTalk chat room yesterday, but in fact, these words were also directed at the head of the Personnel Team in our district’s General Affairs Department," and added, "Last Friday, the union requested the Resident Autonomy Division to suspend the flexible work system at the district community centers during the election period. Yesterday, a notice was received instructing the community center heads to adjust the ratio and implement accordingly."

The problem, he said, is that the community center heads, who are only skilled at following orders, would not participate in adjusting the ratio based on a notice sent to the department heads’ KakaoTalk chat room rather than an official document. This issue arose because the General Affairs Department insisted on maintaining the flexible work system ratio.

He expressed disbelief, criticizing, "Is the election the responsibility of the Resident Autonomy Division while social distancing is the responsibility of the General Affairs Department?"

Branch Chief Im questioned, "This is not a flexible work system involving all employees, and with only three weeks left before the election period, how much does suspending it contradict government policy?" He added, "From the perspective of employees participating in the flexible work system, they have sacrificed to meet the ratio set by the district office, yet they are required to arrive early, mandatorily scan their fingerprints, and even have administrative staff produce handwritten official documents to recognize overtime work."

He also protested, asking, "What benefits does the General Affairs Department provide these employees to be so confident about early arrival, which is not even regular working hours?"

He emphasized that the official documents issued by the district office mix policies that are contradictory concepts, such as social distancing policies like flexible work and telecommuting, with tasks requiring maximum staff mobilization like COVID-19 prevention, temperature checks, and emergency duty.

Im said, "Offices responsible for policy decisions and coordination, like the government or Seoul city, are suitable for social distancing, but for autonomous districts mainly providing public services, quarantine or emergency duty is more efficient," and raised his voice, "Then why must we risk everything to meet the ratio? We should just adjust and implement appropriately."

He further criticized, "The district office forces each department to maintain the assigned personnel ratio for the district community centers regardless of each department’s characteristics and circumstances," adding, "And then they say the department heads should handle it themselves. That means they don’t want to think or take responsibility."

Additionally, he introduced another issue where the General Affairs Department seems overwhelmed with work and lacks time or leeway to consider employees’ perspectives. From the 25th to the 27th, district office employees were dispatched to the district community centers to distribute dental masks to those aged 65 and over.

The surprising fact was that, since the community center staff were busy with election and civil affairs work, employees from the district office’s Tax Department, which is also a civil affairs department, were assigned and sent down.

Branch Chief Im asked, "It would have been appreciated if employees from the Civil Affairs Passport Department, whose passport work has decreased due to restrictions on overseas travel, had been sent instead... Why was the workload uniformly distributed across departments?"

He emphasized, "While it is good to share the burden for the sake of justification, the plea to understand that it was unavoidable while equally dividing work without considering each department’s role, characteristics, and personnel is a situation that should quickly disappear from the high-level Gangnam District Office."

In difficult times, mutual aid and collaboration are basic, but in emergencies, specific departments such as Disaster Safety, General Affairs, Planning and Budget, Policy Promotion Office, and Health Center should take the lead and be excluded from personnel mobilization. Also, during the election period, the Resident Autonomy Division, district community centers, and district office civil affairs departments, which become relatively busy, should be considered, and other departments should bear the increased workload, shouldn’t they?" he criticized.

If work is to be handled efficiently and rationally, that is the role of the district office’s main departments. If complaints arise separately from the district office and the district community centers, then there must be some problem that needs to be reviewed.

Branch Chief Im raised his voice, saying, "Everyone has their own duties, but the problem is constantly pulling personnel without understanding the characteristics of each department," and added, "Don’t pass the work on to others. If you lack ability, don’t cling to your position; yield to someone who can do it well. Aren’t all of you occupying key positions in core departments because your abilities have been verified?"

"In times of crisis, managerial ability and the role of the general departments are important," he said, "Please listen once again to the voices of the employees and do not forget your role as core departments."

He concluded with a pointed remark: "Please think of the employees who are rowing hard below the boat, set the destination to the shortest route, and just row the oars and follow along!"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.