Minju No Chong to Initiate Formation of Apartment Security Guards' Union

On the morning of the 10th, a press conference declaring the organization of apartment security workers is being held at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has decided to form a labor union to prevent mass layoffs of security guards.

The Seoul Headquarters of KCTU and others held a press conference on the 10th at the KCTU office in Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, stating that they will focus on organizing apartment security guards through rallies and briefings ahead of the enforcement of the revised Apartment Housing Management Act.

With the revised Apartment Housing Management Act coming into effect on October 21, apartment security guards will be allowed to perform tasks beyond security duties. As a result, if apartment security guards perform many tasks outside of security, it will become difficult to classify them as 'surveillance and intermittent workers' under the Labor Standards Act.

Surveillance and intermittent workers are those who perform monitoring tasks like security guards, experiencing less physical and mental fatigue, or work intermittently like facility technicians, having many rest and standby periods. The Labor Standards Act does not apply regulations such as working hour limits (52 hours per week) to these workers. Accordingly, the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to cancel the approval of surveillance and intermittent worker status if apartment security guards perform non-security duties beyond a certain level, treating it as 'concurrent employment,' and is preparing specific criteria for judging concurrent employment.

The Seoul Headquarters of KCTU and others emphasized, "Measures to reform work patterns must be prepared quickly so that the employment and wages of security workers and the maintenance fees borne by residents can be maintained at the current level without increase." They also stressed, "In particular, it is necessary to prevent employment insecurity among security workers." The KCTU believes that the Ministry of Employment and Labor might be passive in canceling the approval of surveillance and intermittent worker status by loosening the criteria for concurrent employment judgment, and plans to actively intervene so that apartment security guards are subject to working hour limits and other regulations like regular workers.

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