[Issue Interview] "70% of Minjunochong to Retire Within 5 Years... Fed Up with Political Unions" 'MZ Union' Changing the Labor Landscape

원본보기 아이콘

"In 5 to 6 years, Olbareun Nojo will surpass the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and become the number one union at Seoul Metro."

A seismic shift is occurring in the labor movement long dominated by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU). Young workers, disillusioned by the political and violent labor activism of the two major unions, are rapidly growing new unions. These are called the so-called 'MZ (Millennial + Generation Z) unions.' Unlike the long-standing practices of the two major unions, which are 'combative outwardly and authoritarian inwardly,' these unions act solely for the benefit of workers. On the 13th, we met Song Siyoung, Chairman of the Olbareun Labor Union at Seoul Metro (31, Vice Chairman of the Saerogochim Workers' Council), who stands at the center of the MZ unions, at a cafe in Malli-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul.

Song Si-young, chairman of the Correct Labor Union of Seoul Metro, is being interviewed by Asia Economy at a cafe in Malli-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Chairman Song serves as the vice chairman of the Saerogochim Workers' Council, known as the 'MZ Union.' Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

원본보기 아이콘

Olbareun Nojo, founded by Chairman Song in 2018 at Seoul Metro, recently made history in the union movement. It defeated the KCTU, the company’s number one union, in the election for worker representatives to form the Industrial Safety and Health Committee of the Sales Headquarters. Olbareun Nojo’s candidate Heo Jaeyoung (55.19%) won against the unified candidate from the two major unions, Im Jeongwan (44.81%). Looking at the union membership in the Sales Headquarters, KCTU has the largest number with 1,600 members, while Olbareun Nojo has only about 1,200. Therefore, it was difficult to imagine Olbareun Nojo’s victory before the election.

Chairman Song said, "The first-place (KCTU) and third-place (FKTU) unions united to defeat the second-place (Olbareun Nojo) candidate, violating election rules by conducting prior promotions, but we won by a large margin." He added, "About 700 to 800 votes defected from KCTU, which means there are many KCTU members who do not support combative or irrational actions."

Olbareun Nojo was born out of anger over the conversion of non-regular employees to regular general staff at the company, a process agreed upon by then Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and KCTU in 2018. Chairman Song pointed out, "There is a fixed hiring process to enter a public enterprise, but it was completely ignored, converting 1,600 people including indefinite contract workers and regular employees from private companies into general staff, sharing welfare benefits with regular hires."

At that time, KCTU did not consult other employees during the conversion process. He said, "Although the total number of employees increased, the number per job category kept decreasing. In the Sales Headquarters, there are no substitutes, so employees cannot even take vacations." He added, "Young employees who will work for another 20 to 30 years feel they can no longer entrust their wages and welfare to KCTU. That’s why we established the union."

Starting with eight members, Olbareun Nojo now has 2,000 members, 90% of whom are young workers. Although it currently lacks bargaining rights, trailing behind KCTU as the number one union, it is expected to surpass KCTU and become the top union within 5 to 6 years. Chairman Song emphasized, "From next year, over 1,000 retirees will leave annually. Over 70% of our company are employees in their 50s retiring within five years, most of whom belong to KCTU. Olbareun Nojo will inevitably become the number one union."

Song Si-young, Chairman of the Correct Labor Union at Seoul Metro. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

원본보기 아이콘

Young workers’ disappointment with KCTU was largely influenced by the union’s excessive political activities unrelated to working conditions. Chairman Song said, "During Seoul mayoral or presidential elections, KCTU officials send texts to employees urging them to vote for Park Young-sun or Lee Jae-myung. I don’t understand why the company union gets involved in elections and sends such messages to employees." Indeed, messages from company union officials to members encouraged recruitment for the Democratic Party’s electoral college, claiming 'Lee Jae-myung has an advantage,' and even collected support lists for Park Young-sun, then the Democratic Party’s Seoul mayoral candidate.

A text message sent by a Seoul Metro Democratic Labor Union executive to union members.

원본보기 아이콘

He said, "The biggest difference between Olbareun Nojo and KCTU is focusing on the essence of the union rather than political acts." He added, "We will express opinions to lawmakers but have no intention to engage in movements like abolishing the National Security Law, freeing Lee Seok-ki, or anti-Japan and anti-US campaigns. Regardless of whether these issues are right or wrong, they are not matters for unions."

However, this does not mean they avoid political activities altogether. On the contrary, they raise their voices strongly on labor reform issues directly related to workers’ lives. For example, they publicly opposed the government’s controversial reforms to the '69-hour workweek' system and the introduction of performance-based pay.

Chairman Song said, "If the maximum weekly working hours increase to 69, workers should be allowed long rest periods afterward, but this is impossible without substitute workers." He criticized, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor is collecting opinions and preparing supplementary measures, but these cannot fundamentally resolve the issue." He suggested, "If there are occupations like developers requiring concentrated work, special laws should apply only to those sectors first. Changing the Labor Standards Act to apply uniformly to all workplaces is not right."

Regarding the abolition of the seniority system and the introduction of performance-based pay, he said, "We oppose these only in the public sector." He explained, "Public institutions are not places to produce results, so work cannot be quantified. If evaluations are conducted, they will be done by senior KCTU bosses, so can fair evaluations be expected? They might coerce union membership using personnel disadvantages as a weapon."

On the afternoon of February 21, the Saerogochim Workers' Council inauguration ceremony was held at Dongja Art Hall in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

In February, Olbareun Nojo co-founded the 'Saerogochim Workers' Council' with unions such as LG Electronics’ People-Centered Office Workers Union. Chairman Song serves as vice chairman of this organization. Membership, which was about 6,000 at launch, has grown to 10,000 across 12 workplaces. On the day of the interview, Chairman Song said, "After this interview, I plan to visit a public corporation that inquired about joining." He added, "We keep receiving a huge number of membership inquiries. Unions disliking the methods of the two major unions seem to be looking to us as an alternative."

Chairman Song emphasized plans to actively improve the treatment of non-regular and small business workers who are not unionized. This contrasts with KCTU’s relatively passive stance on resolving the 'dual labor market structure' between large and small companies, which preserves the vested interests of production workers. He said, "KCTU frames us as vested interests of large corporations, office workers, and public enterprises, but that’s not true. Our opposition to the '69-hour workweek' is to protect workers in small and micro enterprises suffering from unpaid labor under the comprehensive wage system and who cannot even properly take vacations."

Regarding concerns that the rise of MZ unions might increase 'worker vs. worker' conflicts, he dismissed them as "KCTU’s position." Indeed, since Olbareun Nojo’s founding, Seoul Metro has seen intensified criticism and scrutiny from KCTU. KCTU Chairman Yang Kyung-soo recently said at a press conference that Saerogochim’s attempt to remove political colors is due to 'lack of experience.'

Chairman Song said, "The hardest part of creating and running the union was KCTU’s false agitation and insults." He recalled, "A KCTU official sent texts calling me from a pro-Japanese family, an Ilbe (far-right community) member, and a conservative political agitator." He emphasized, "We did not create Saerogochim because we dislike KCTU or FKTU. We are open to solidarity with KCTU in principle if there are common grounds."

Going forward, Chairman Song’s goal is to improve employees’ wages and welfare and create a safe working environment. He said, "For this, we need bargaining rights and authority to negotiate with management, but currently KCTU monopolizes these, and our opinions are not considered at all, so there are limits." He added, "We will work harder to create better conditions. I hope existing employees stop being deceived by KCTU and join the new wave of change."

Song Si-young, Chairman of the Correct Labor Union at Seoul Metro. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

원본보기 아이콘

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.