[Exclusive] "Let's Withdraw from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions"... Conflict Between MZ and Older Generations in NHIS Union

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Seo So-jeong and Lee Chun-hee] At the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), which is embroiled in a ‘labor-labor (노노) conflict’ over the direct employment of call center staff, 1,499 young employees, including new hires, requested the convening of an extraordinary general meeting with the main agenda of withdrawing from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), but the request was rejected. These employees are strongly opposed to the direct employment of call center staff and are calling for a vote of no confidence against the current NHIS labor union chairman, further intensifying the labor-labor conflict.

According to the NHIS on the 24th, 1,499 young NHIS employees (MZ generation) requested the convening of an extraordinary general meeting with the main agenda of withdrawing from the KCTU and a vote of no confidence against the current union chairman and executive team, ahead of the scheduled general meeting for union members on the 7th of next month, but the request was rejected.

The young NHIS employees submitted a request for convening an extraordinary general meeting on the 13th, proposing the main agenda items as ▲a vote among union members on the employment conversion method including direct employment of call center staff ▲a vote of no confidence against the current NHIS union chairman and executive team ▲a vote on withdrawal from the KCTU, the upper-level union organization of NHIS.

However, the NHIS union held a central executive committee meeting on the 19th and decided not to convene the extraordinary general meeting, rejecting the request submitted by the Fair Value Solidarity, stating that it did not meet the requirements for establishing agenda items and convening the meeting. The NHIS union explained, "To withdraw from the KCTU, one must first withdraw from the Public Transport Workers’ Union, so there is a procedural defect," adding, "Regarding the frequent requests for convening extraordinary general meetings that do not comply with the bylaws and regulations, the chairman’s position has been posted on the union bulletin board, and we plan to promptly hold briefings by each headquarters for on-site communication."

The movement led by the MZ generation to withdraw from the KCTU was temporarily settled as the request to convene the extraordinary general meeting failed, but the labor-labor conflict is showing signs of intensifying further with added generational conflict. Among some young employees, there is even a movement to establish a second union. The young NHIS employees formed the ‘Fair Value Solidarity’ in June opposing the direct employment of call center staff. The Fair Value Solidarity stated, "Direct management of call center staff violates fairness," and added, "We are considering withdrawing from the KCTU, which supports direct employment of call center staff."

However, there are many counterarguments. The existing union stated, "Although the Fair Value Solidarity emphasizes fairness, the union’s priority is solidarity," and added, "It is difficult to understand the actions of the Fair Value Solidarity, which relies on social networking services (SNS) and anonymity for its activities."

Meanwhile, the NHIS call center handles public inquiries and consultation services related to health insurance and has been operated by outsourcing to 11 private companies since 2006. As the labor-labor conflict deepened, NHIS Chairman Kim Yong-ik began a hunger strike in June to resolve the situation, and the two unions sat at the negotiation table but failed to reach an agreement. Subsequently, the call center union staged its third strike from the 1st of last month to the 11th of this month.

The NHIS stated, "Negotiations to resolve the direct employment issue of call center staff are ongoing through a private outsourcing office discussion council composed of union representatives, call center union members, NHIS representatives, and external members," adding, "We are making efforts to resolve the situation."

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