GIST and Union Clash Over Personnel Issues in Collective Bargaining

The labor union of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), which is experiencing difficulties in collective bargaining, is in conflict with the university over the issue of talent attrition and appointments of key personnel.

GIST campus view. Photo by GIST

According to both GIST management and labor on April 19, three labor unions—the GIST branch of the National Science and Technology Labor Union, the GIST branch of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union, and the GIST Researcher Union (for full-time researchers)—have called for the withdrawal of parachute-style appointments and the establishment of a transparent personnel system.

The unions also demanded that appointments be aligned with recruitment objectives and guarantee expertise, as well as a reduction in the number of management-level positions, which now exceeds 10, and an increase in practical staff.

The union stated, “There is criticism that, taking advantage of the absence of a collective agreement, management’s personnel moves have devolved into favoritism,” adding, “Since the current president took office, more than 20 faculty and staff members have left, and two researchers were dismissed and are now in litigation.”

They continued, “A counseling specialist was reassigned to research fund management work and subsequently resigned, while a legally mandated records manager was reassigned to departmental administration. In addition, the number of director-level positions increased from five to thirteen, prioritizing entrenched interests over organizational productivity.”

In response, the university issued a statement refuting the union’s claims, arguing that the union was distorting public opinion.

The university stated, “The personnel moves involving the counseling specialist and records manager occurred under the former president. Claiming that these are the actions of the current leadership is a malicious misrepresentation,” and added, “Most of the departed faculty and staff voluntarily chose to move to other institutions in the Seoul metropolitan area and elsewhere.”

Regarding the two dismissed employees, the university explained, “One retired due to reaching the mandatory retirement age, and the other was disciplined for misconduct. Both actions were upheld as legitimate by the court and the Labor Relations Commission,” insisting, “Describing these as abuses constitutes an unjust infringement on management’s authority.”

The university further claimed, “Of the roughly 1,050 university members who are considered employees, only 126 union members voted in favor of the current industrial action. The strong voices of a minority are distorting the overall atmosphere of the university.”

The university concluded, “Over the past two years, we have faithfully participated in more than 15 rounds of negotiations, but the union has refused to negotiate on individual clauses, instead demanding only wholesale acceptance of their original proposal. They then unilaterally halted talks and began industrial action. The union must return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.”

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