Financial Union on the Brink of Strike... Difficulties in Finding a Compromise

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The National Financial Industry Labor Union (Financial Union) has passed a strike authorization vote among its members for a general strike. With the approval of the vote, the union can now legally proceed with a strike immediately. Accordingly, the Financial Union plans to hold a general strike rally on the 10th. However, concerns are rising that labor-management conflicts will intensify further as disagreements over the key issue of wage increase rates remain unresolved between the union and the employers.

According to the financial sector on the 5th, the Financial Union announced at the '2021 Wage and Labor Conditions Total Struggle Declaration Press Conference' on the 3rd, "If demands such as guaranteeing real wages are not accepted, we will unite the will of 100,000 financial workers and launch an all-out general strike struggle."

The Financial Union conducted a 'strike authorization vote for all members' on the previous day across 38 branches and local chapters nationwide under the Financial Union. Out of a total of 90,151 members, 66,045 (73.26%) participated, and 61,075 voted in favor, approving the strike with 92.47%. The Financial Union plans to hold a resolution rally for the general strike both online and offline on the 10th.

Earlier, on the 2nd, the Financial Union and the Financial Industry Employers Council attended the second mediation meeting at the Central Labor Relations Commission but failed to narrow their differences on the core issue of wage increase rates, resulting in a breakdown of negotiations.

Since the first central collective bargaining session on April 20, the 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 have insisted on a wage increase rate below 1%. After initially proposing a 0.4% increase, they raised it to 0.9% following union opposition. The employers argue that although some financial institutions have performed well, this does not reflect the overall financial sector atmosphere. They also contend that negotiations must align with payment capacity and the government’s wage increase guidelines for public officials. The government decided last September to set this year's public official wage increase rate at 0.9%.

As mediation by the Central Labor Relations Commission began, the Financial Union finally proposed a 4.8% increase, while the Employers Council proposed 1.2%. The Commission suggested a 2.2% wage increase adjustment plan. However, both 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.

The Financial Union’s central labor-management committee lists key demands including ▲ employer contributions to public interest foundations to resolve polarization and fulfill financial companies’ social responsibilities ▲ establishment of labor-management agreement procedures upon branch closures ▲ guarantee of autonomous labor-management negotiation rights ▲ simultaneous use of lunch breaks to reduce customer waiting times and ensure workers’ legal break times. Additionally, they demand the abolition of the wage peak system, withdrawal of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance’s public institution innovation guidelines, and improvement of the management evaluation system.

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