With Central Labor Relations Commission Mediation Failing... Will the Financial Workers' Union Go on Strike? (Comprehensive)

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 National 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 hurdle 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 Financial Industry Employers' Council attended the second mediation meeting of the Central Labor Relations Commission but failed to narrow the gap on the core negotiation issue of wage increase rates, resulting in a breakdown.

Since the first central collective bargaining session 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 employers argue for an increase rate below 1%. After initially proposing a 0.4% wage increase, they raised it to 0.9% following union backlash. The employers maintain that although some financial institutions have performed well, this does not reflect the overall financial sector atmosphere. They also insist that negotiations must align with payment capacity and the government’s wage increase guidelines for public officials. The government decided last September that this year's public official wage increase rate would be 0.9%.

With the start of mediation by the Central Labor Relations Commission, the Financial Union finally proposed a 4.8% increase, and the Employers' Council proposed 1.2%. The Commission suggested a 2.2% wage increase adjustment. However, both financial labor and management 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, a legal strike can commence. 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 broken down, the six agenda items proposed by the union to the Central Labor-Management Committee have also stalled. In particular, some 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.