The banking sector labor union is dedicating its full efforts to strikes and rallies in September, elevating issues from wage increases and a 4.5-day workweek to the relocation of public institutional investors. Solidarity movements among banking unions are strengthening, with unions from policy banks and financial public institutions joining joint rallies and press conferences.
According to the banking sector on the 26th, the National Federation of Financial Industry Unions (Financial Union) will hold a 'September 4 General Strike Press Conference' on the 27th. Ahead of a general strike rally in Gwanghwamun next month on the 4th, following a general strike determination meeting on the 28th, it plans to reveal its core demands and detailed schedule.
The Financial Union secured the right to take industrial action with a 96.1% approval rate in a referendum held on the 12th involving 68,878 members. Core demands include the introduction of a 4.5-day workweek, real wage increases, and blocking the relocation of financial institutions. The Financial Union includes 42 local branches covering commercial banks, regional banks, policy banks, Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, Technology Guarantee Fund, Korea Asset Management Corporation, Korea Housing Finance Corporation, Korea Financial Transactions Institute, and KOSCOM.
The KakaoBank union, not affiliated with the Financial Union, is launching a separate strike. The KakaoBank union has announced a five-day consecutive general strike involving all members from the 31st of this month to the 4th of next month. Key demands include wage increases and expanded performance-based compensation.
Starting with its first strike on the 31st of last month involving about 700 participants, the KakaoBank union conducted an additional strike on the 14th and has also entered a law-abiding struggle since the 12th, refusing night shifts, overtime, and holiday work. Concerns are raised that with all members participating in the general strike for five days, response capabilities to emergencies such as system failures may be compromised, along with delays in customer consultations.
Since the final day of the KakaoBank union's general strike coincides with the Financial Union's general strike on September 4, the first week of September is expected to be a turning point for labor-management relations in the banking sector. However, as the government's second plan for relocating public institutions is projected to be announced later than initially expected, union opposition may also prolong. Kim Yoon-deok, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, was reported to have explained on the 24th at the National Assembly that "the relocation plan will be announced around October or November following a public deliberation process."
Recently in the banking sector, collective actions by individual unions are increasingly interconnected through the issue of blocking 'relocation.' Unions from Korea Development Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, and Export-Import Bank of Korea held a 'General Strike Determination Meeting to Block Relocation of Three Policy Banks' on the 11th. The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation and Financial Supervisory Service unions also held a joint press conference on the 24th to block relocation. The Financial Supervisory Service union is internally reviewing joining the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and other umbrella organizations. In the case of Nonghyup, unions from affiliated banks and insurance companies gathered to hold a determination meeting to block Nonghyup headquarters relocation on the 29th of last month, and marched as far as Cheong Wa Dae on the 21st of this month.
Union pressure targets are expanding beyond the government to include management at each institution. The Korea Development Bank union demanded that Park Sang-jin (Chairman) "directly convey to the government its position to exclude Korea Development Bank from the second relocation target and publicly oppose relocation." The Industrial Bank of Korea union is also continuously urging President Jang Min-young to publicly express opposition to relocation. The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation union is pressuring the board of directors and management through Director Kim Dae-ui, a former union vice-chairman who serves as an inside director.
A banking sector official stated, "Conflicts over wages and performance-based compensation at individual banks are becoming intertwined with broader working condition issues across the entire banking sector and the problem of relocating public institutions, widening the front of union collective actions." The official added, "Especially centered on the Financial Union's industry-wide general strike, unions from policy banks, financial public institutions, and internet banks are moving beyond their individual concerns to respond jointly, strengthening the cohesion of banking sector unions."
in FINANCE
