Due to COVID-19, SMEs are struggling... Industrial Bank of Korea, labor-management conflict reignites over wage negotiations

Union Files Dispute Mediation Request with Central Labor Relations Commission... "Ready to Strike"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] The labor and management of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea are in conflict over wage and collective bargaining issues. Both sides are firmly opposed regarding the agenda to be brought to the negotiation table, and the labor union is determined to go on strike if the negotiations continue to fail. Some express concerns that the labor-management conflict at this state-run bank, which should be supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners amid the third wave of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), might cause problems in financial support.

According to the financial sector on the 17th, the IBK labor union has applied for dispute mediation to the Central Labor Relations Commission regarding the breakdown of wage and collective bargaining negotiations and is awaiting the first result to be announced today and the final result on the 21st. While continuing behind-the-scenes negotiations with management, the union has stated that if management does not accept the final result presented to the commission, they will proceed with a strike. Currently, the union is holding a one-person protest in front of the Blue House, blaming IBK President Yoon Jong-won for the breakdown of the wage and collective bargaining negotiations.

The labor and management of IBK held two official negotiations on the 3rd and 10th but failed to reach an agreement on the agenda for the wage and collective bargaining, resulting in a breakdown of negotiations.

The management’s position is to handle only the wage-related issues, on which some consensus has been reached, in this negotiation and to continue discussions on other issues by forming a separate consultative body.

Although there is no disagreement between labor and management regarding the voluntary retirement system, due to the nature of being a state-run bank, it is considered an issue that cannot be implemented solely by labor-management agreement, so it is expected to take time to reach a conclusion. The management sent an email to all employees the day before, implying that the negotiations were delayed due to the union’s insistence on including voluntary retirement in the wage and collective bargaining process.

An IBK official explained, "Matters related to the bank’s management evaluation system and personnel are the exclusive domain of management and are not subject to collective bargaining," but added, "We are collecting field opinions from all branches to reform the management evaluation system for next year." He continued, "As the prolonged COVID-19 situation has made things difficult, many employees are waiting for wage-related consultations, so we proposed to proceed with the wage and collective bargaining first and resolve issues such as improving the management evaluation system through a separate consultative body."

Management: "Matters related to the management evaluation system and personnel are not subject to collective bargaining"
Labor: "If related to working conditions, any issue should be discussed in the wage and collective bargaining"

On the other hand, the labor union explains that President Yoon has not properly implemented the '6 Joint Declarations and 9 Practical Tasks' agreed upon with the union at the time of his inauguration. This is why they insist that the negotiation table for this wage and collective bargaining should include measures to improve the management evaluation system, improve treatment for former quasi-regular employees converted to regular positions, implement employee morale-boosting measures, and the voluntary retirement system.

A union official said, "President Yoon imposed excessive targets on branches in the second half of this year without implementing the matters agreed upon with the union at the time of his inauguration. Employees are feeling work pressure." The union’s position is that any issue related to working conditions should be discussed in the wage and collective bargaining.

Some express concerns that the repeated labor union actions might hinder overcoming the crisis at a time when labor and management should unite to provide financial support amid economic uncertainty caused by the resurgence of COVID-19. A financial sector official said, "The labor and management of IBK have been in extreme conflict since President Yoon’s inauguration," adding, "It is time for both labor and management to contribute to overcoming the crisis for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners."

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