Government Urges "Restraint on Strikes" vs Health and Medical Workers' Union Warns "No Agreement, Total Strike" (Comprehensive Report 2)

Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol "Resolve Through Dialogue" vs Union "Prime Minister Must Intervene Directly"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The Korea Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU), affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which has announced a general strike on the 2nd of next month, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare have engaged in government-labor consultations to coordinate opinions but have failed to reach an agreement. Differences remain on key issues such as expanding healthcare personnel and improving working conditions, and last-minute difficulties are expected.

On the 31st, Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol stated in a public address, "The government and the KHMU have engaged in sincere consultations, but so far have not reached an agreement," adding, "While there is consensus on the broad framework, there are differences in the specific levels of agreement envisioned by both sides."

The KHMU and the Ministry resumed the 12th government-labor consultation at the Medical Institution Evaluation and Accreditation Institute in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, the previous day. The talks, which began at 3 p.m. the day before, continued for about 14 hours until 5 a.m. the following morning.

Minister Kwon explained, "Policy tasks with little social disagreement and high acceptance in medical settings can be implemented in the short term, but matters requiring consultation with stakeholders for acceptance within the medical community or society cannot be decided solely through negotiations with labor."

He added, "The healthcare system includes not only healthcare workers but also various stakeholders such as the public who use healthcare services and bear the financial burden, medical institutions, and other medical professionals not affiliated with labor unions," and requested, "While we understand the concerns and difficulties of the KHMU, we ask for understanding of the government's position once again."

Minister Kwon also requested restraint from striking amid the ongoing fourth wave of COVID-19. He emphasized, "Now is the time for both healthcare workers and the government to focus on responding to the fourth wave of COVID-19," and urged, "In this serious situation of the fourth wave, we ask to refrain from collective actions such as strikes and to resolve the current situation together through dialogue and consultation."

With two days remaining until the general strike, the government intends to continue dialogue with the KHMU to resolve issues until the last moment. In preparation for the strike, the government plans to maintain a 24-hour emergency medical system including emergency centers according to emergency medical measures, extend weekday consultation hours at hospital-level medical institutions, and ensure the participation of public institutions not involved in the strike in emergency medical services without disruption.

Lee Chang-jun, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "During yesterday's marathon discussions, we reached consensus on 17 out of 22 detailed tasks," and added, "For the remaining five tasks, we agreed to conduct additional discussions this afternoon or tomorrow after internal review."

Lee said, "There are still several disagreements on issues such as COVID-19 frontline personnel standards, recruitment methods and compensation for infectious disease-dedicated hospitals, nursing staff standards, and confirmation of regions for expanding public hospitals," and noted, "While it may not be easy to resolve all five tasks, the government fully understands the difficulties faced in medical settings and will do its best to prepare sincere alternatives to reach an agreement."

KHMU Emergency Statement... Government: "Must Show Role Through Budget and Legislation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The KHMU issued an emergency statement at 1 p.m. on the same day, declaring that if no agreement is reached on key tasks, it will proceed with a general strike on the 2nd of next month. The union also raised its voice demanding that Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum personally intervene to resolve the situation.

Na Soon-ja, Chairperson of the KHMU, expressed regret, saying, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare's statement merely repeats the difficult stance it has reiterated several times," and criticized, "During the past three months of negotiations, aside from repeatedly saying 'these are mid- to long-term tasks that require long-term discussions,' I want to ask what additional discussions have progressed with other stakeholders besides us."

Chairperson Na added, "We must reflect on whether the precious time was wasted without substance due to the financial authorities such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance turning a blind eye and the Ministry of Health and Welfare's passive attitude, despite three months of government-labor negotiations," emphasizing, "The five unresolved key tasks (▲Establishing standards for COVID-19 response medical personnel ▲Expanding public healthcare ▲Improving nurses' working conditions ▲Expanding the education-dedicated nurse system ▲Support for night nursing fees, etc.) are essential issues that must be resolved to prevent the union from striking."

The union urged decisive action from the government and ruling party to resolve the core issues. Chairperson Na stated, "If it is beyond the authority of the Minister of Health and Welfare, the Minister of Economy and Finance must step in," and insisted, "Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, the commander of COVID-19 prevention, must personally take a role at the pan-governmental level."

She continued, "Since the government has expressed full sympathy for our demands through meetings with the KHMU, we hope it will actively demonstrate its role through budget and legislation," warning, "If government-labor negotiations fail to secure momentum through dramatic agreement, the issue will not be a few days of 'medical chaos' but the 'exodus' of 230,000 clinical nurses and the collapse of healthcare, leading inevitably to the failure of both 'With COVID' transition and K-quarantine."

She added, "If no agreement is reached, the 80,000 union members of the KHMU will inevitably proceed with a general strike and joint actions," and said, "While strictly adhering to social distancing and quarantine rules, we will have no choice but to engage in 'the most desperate struggle in the world' at the Sejong Government Complex and across regions nationwide."

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