Financial Union Preparing for Strike After Failure of Central Labor Relations Commission Mediation

Wage Increase Mediation Proposal Fails, Right to Strike Acquired
Financial Labor Union Emergency Branch Representatives Meeting Tomorrow

The Central Labor Relations Commission is holding the second mediation meeting on the 2nd. Photo by Geumyung Nojo

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Korea Financial Industry Labor Union, which obtained the right to strike following the Central Labor Relations Commission's decision to suspend mediation, is escalating its level of struggle. The Financial Union plans to prepare measures for the struggle, including the final step of a union member vote for a strike, through an emergency branch representatives meeting this week, raising tensions between financial labor and management.

According to the financial sector on the 11th, the Financial Union will convene an emergency branch representatives meeting on the 12th of this month to hold a strike vote and prepare struggle measures. Industry insiders expect that the decision to implement the strike vote will be made at this meeting.

Earlier, on the 2nd, the Financial Union and the Korea Federation of Banks attended the second mediation meeting of the Central Labor Relations Commission but failed to narrow their differences on the key issue of wage increase rates, resulting in a breakdown.

Since the first round of sectoral central negotiations on April 20, financial labor and management have shown significant differences over wage increase rates. Initially, the Financial Union demanded a 4.3% wage increase for regular workers and 8.6% for low-wage groups, but during negotiations, reflecting the Bank of Korea's recent inflation and economic growth forecasts, they raised their demands to 5.8% for regular workers and 11.6% for low-wage groups. On the other hand, the management side initially proposed a 0.4% wage increase but raised it to 0.9% following union backlash. The management council maintains that, considering the rapidly changing financial industry, they have no choice but to negotiate in line with the government-set public servant wage increase guideline (0.9% this year).

With the start of mediation by the Central Labor Relations Commission, the Financial Union finally proposed a 4.8% increase, while the management council proposed 1.2%. The commission suggested a 2.2% wage increase adjustment. However, both sides rejected the commission's proposal, leading to the breakdown of the second mediation meeting and the commission's decision to suspend mediation.

Following the commission's decision to suspend mediation, the Financial Union has obtained the right to strike. If a strike is approved in a subsequent union member vote, they will be able to proceed with a legal strike. The Financial Union does not rule out the possibility of a strike. A Financial Union official stated, "The future direction will be decided through the emergency branch representatives meeting," adding, "If a strike vote is held, considering the time needed to persuade union members, it is expected to take place around the end of this month."

With negotiations breaking down, the six agenda items proposed by the union to the Central Labor-Management Committee have also stalled. In particular, some of the agenda items include sensitive topics such as ‘simultaneous use of lunch breaks,’ making discussions expected to be difficult.

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