Incheon Airport Firefighters Union: "Stop the Hasty Regularization Causing Job Loss Crisis"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] Fire brigade employees of Incheon International Airport Corporation are calling on the government to come up with measures, claiming they have been pushed into the risk of dismissal due to competitive recruitment following direct employment by the corporation.

The Incheon Airport Fire Brigade Labor Union held a press conference on the 15th in front of the Blue House in Jongno-gu, Seoul, stating, "Immediately stop the hasty push for regular employment conversion and withdraw the attempt of unfair mass dismissal."

According to the Fire Brigade Labor Union, about 200 fire personnel are currently affiliated with Incheon Airport Facilities Management, a subsidiary of the corporation. Direct employment was decided through the 1st Incheon Airport Labor-Management-Expert Council in 2017, and the hiring process has been underway since May.

The problem is that some personnel have failed in the competitive recruitment process. Currently, the corporation is conducting a formal hiring process for those who joined before May 12, 2017, when President Moon Jae-in mentioned the "regularization of non-regular workers in public institutions," while those who joined after that date are undergoing direct employment through open competition.

In particular, those who joined after May 12 must go through document screening, written tests, physical tests, and interviews, during which 32 candidates have been eliminated. The Fire Brigade Labor Union pointed out, "Due to competitive recruitment without agreement with the parties involved, 32 candidates have been eliminated and turned into unemployed persons. The fire brigade workers had already signed indefinite-term labor contracts with Incheon Airport Facilities Management in January, becoming regular employees of the subsidiary, but despite knowing this, the corporation is forcing fire brigade workers into competitive recruitment, creating a group of unemployed workers."

Lee Young-jae, chairman of the Fire Brigade Labor Union, said, "Deciding whether to conduct competitive recruitment based on the date the president visited Incheon Airport and applying different hiring procedures clearly violates Article 11 of the Constitution regarding the right to equality," adding, "We will hold the corporation strictly accountable for turning healthy workers into unemployed persons."

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