"Ultimately, the Victims Are Students" One Month of Daejeon School Irregular Workers' Strike

It has been a month since the Daejeon branch of the National School Irregular Workers' Union (hereinafter referred to as the School Irregular Workers' Union) began an indefinite strike. However, disagreements with the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education remain unresolved, leading to criticism that the damage is ultimately being passed on to the students.

The School Irregular Workers' Union demands that the annual working days for non-working employees during vacation periods be guaranteed at 320 days, that regular workers be granted more than 10 days of autonomous training annually, and that the standards for assigning kitchen staff be relaxed.

The strike has been ongoing indefinitely since the 15th of last month, already reaching one month. Currently, 143 union members from 30 schools are participating in the strike, including some meal preparation workers, causing disruptions in school meals at some schools.

The Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education is focusing on minimizing student damage by supporting the purchase of ready-made lunch boxes for schools where meal services are not running smoothly, while maintaining the position that it is difficult to accept the demands of the School Irregular Workers' Union.

The reason for rejecting the union's demands, such as guaranteeing annual working days for non-working employees during vacation periods, is that these demands do not comply with the Labor Standards Act, and if accepted, would violate fairness with other workers.

During the strike, the School Irregular Workers' Union has also shown signs of conflict with the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education Public Officials' Union (Public Officials' Union).

Recently, the Public Officials' Union issued a press release criticizing, "The strike by the School Irregular Workers' Union leads to disruptions in school meals, ultimately infringing on students' health rights and learning rights." They urged, "The School Irregular Workers' Union should withdraw their unreasonable demands and engage in collective bargaining."

As the strike by the School Irregular Workers' Union continues, dissatisfaction among parents is also growing. On online mom cafes, some parents are reported to be criticizing, saying, "Only the children suffer from the tug-of-war between the union and the Office of Education," "We should claim damages against the School Irregular Workers' Union," "They should not try to satisfy personal interests at the expense of the students," and "Parents will prepare lunch boxes, so fire them all."

Meanwhile, the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education and the School Irregular Workers' Union are scheduled to resume collective bargaining on the 15th.

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