Busan National University Hospital Labor-Management Negotiation Reached, Normal Treatment from the 2nd

The National Health and Medical Industry Labor Union (Health and Medical Labor Union) has announced a general strike starting on the 13th. On the 11th, a citizen passed by the electronic display board in the lobby of the general ward at Yangsan Busan National University Hospital in Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam, which informed that normal medical treatment was not possible due to the union strike. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The labor and management at Busan National University Hospital have tentatively agreed on a negotiation proposal after 20 days of strike. Hospital operations are expected to normalize as early as the 2nd.

On the afternoon of the 1st, Busan National University Hospital announced that labor and management had tentatively agreed to end the strike by accepting the mediation proposal from Cha Jeong-in, the chairman of the hospital board and president of Busan National University.

Accordingly, it was explained that medical services at the main hospital and Yangsan Busan National University Hospital are expected to return to normal as early as the 2nd.

Previously, among the 39 issues under discussion between labor and management, they failed to narrow differences on three key issues: ▲direct employment of non-regular workers ▲prohibition of illegal medical practices ▲discussion on workforce reinforcement.

In particular, the positions of labor and management sharply diverged over the issue of direct employment of non-regular workers. According to the government's 2017 guideline on 'conversion of non-regular workers to regular workers,' workplaces directly related to the lives of the people must implement direct employment.

Currently, among the 14 national university hospitals, all except Busan National University Hospital have completed direct employment.

Busan National University Hospital also held public hearings in 2017 and 2018 regarding this issue, and in November 2021, the board of directors decided to make a decision 'after collecting opinions from stakeholders such as workers subject to conversion and hospital members,' but direct employment has not yet been implemented.

The labor union argued that the hospital side has delayed this issue for seven years and that, since the recent strike sufficiently expressed the members' intentions, direct employment must be resolved 'immediately' for the strike to end.

The management maintained that due to emergency management caused by COVID-19, they were unable to proceed with the procedures proposed by the board of directors, but they would follow the procedures once the strike ends.

The Busan National University Hospital labor union is reportedly planning to hold a delegates' meeting soon and declare the end of the strike once the labor-management agreement is ratified.

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