[Exclusive] Will the Public Enterprise Job-Based Pay System Fail?…Union Declares "Collective Opposition Resolution"

Major Trade Unions Hold 'Public Sector Joint Countermeasures Committee' Meeting
Discuss Joint Rejection of Yoon Government's 'Job-Based Pay System'
Public Labor Union: "Job-Based Pay System Acceptable Only with Rights Improvement"

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Song Seung-seop] The public institution job-based pay system policy promoted by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is expected to fizzle out. All public institution labor unions have agreed to reject the introduction of the job-based pay system and not to engage in labor-management consultations. Although labor-management agreement is essential, the government is not discussing additional countermeasures, making it highly likely that the policy to expand the job-based pay system will become an empty promise.

According to officials from the two major labor federations on the 16th, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) held a meeting of the "Joint Countermeasures Committee of Public Sector Labor Unions of the Two Major Federations (Gongdaeui)" the day before to discuss how to evaluate and respond to the government's public institution-related policies. Gongdaeui is a meeting body consisting of public institution labor unions affiliated with higher-level unions, established to devise joint response measures on various issues.

At the meeting, union officials proposed rejecting the government's introduction of the job-based pay system and collecting signatures from individual unions agreeing not to reach labor-management agreements. Regarding the "New Government Public Institution Innovation Guidelines," legal action is being seriously considered. According to the guidelines, public institution innovation performance is to be reflected in management evaluations and government work evaluations, and plans are underway to file constitutional complaints and administrative lawsuits against these provisions.

Last October, public unions strongly criticized the government's innovation guidelines at a meeting of about 300 union representatives held in the auditorium of Mapo District Office in Seoul. It was the first time since 2015 that a representative meeting of higher-level public institution unions was held. At that time, the unions demanded the withdrawal of the policy, arguing that the government's innovation guidelines would destroy public interest.

Public Unions: "Job-Based Pay System Will Be Accepted Only If Workers' Rights Are Improved"

The reason the unions have escalated their joint response is due to the government's policy implementation approach. During former President Moon Jae-in's administration, the job-based pay system was promoted alongside discussions with higher-level unions and proposals for a labor director system, achieving social consensus. In contrast, the current government has not held separate discussions with the two major labor federations regarding the job-based pay system. Instead, it plans to provide incentives such as total labor cost increases to institutions with a high level of job-based pay system adoption. Since the introduction of the job-based pay system in some institutions could have a significant ripple effect on all unions, it appears that public unions have taken collective action.

An official from a public union stated, "If various measures are proposed to the two major labor federations to ensure the introduction of the job-based pay system, it would be welcomed and open to dialogue," adding, "However, if only a job-based pay system that reduces employees' wages is presented, it will be difficult to accept." He further added, "Even if some union members suffer losses, the overall rights and interests of unions and workers must improve for the job-based pay system to be accepted."

The problem is that wage systems require labor-management agreement, so if unions reject the job-based pay system, there is no way to implement it. There are no additional government-level efforts to gain union consent. An official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance explained, "The government cannot force a specific public institution to adopt the job-based pay system if it refuses," but added, "Since public unions have previously agreed to strive for the introduction of the job-based pay system, they must fulfill that promise."

The goal of increasing the number of institutions adopting the job-based pay system to 100 has also become practically difficult to achieve. On the 30th of last month, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho held a public institution management committee meeting at the Government Seoul Office and said, "We will actively promote the goal of having 100 institutions adopt the job-based pay system by 2024 and more than 200 by 2027." As of 2021, 32 institutions had introduced the job-based pay system.

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