Bank branches will open at 9:30 a.m. starting next April. This follows a tentative agreement between labor and management in the financial sector to reduce operating hours by 30 minutes. In addition, total wages will be increased by 3.0% this year, and efforts will be made to improve working conditions, including the introduction of an autonomous attendance system.
According to the financial sector on the 28th, the National Financial Industry Union and employer representatives tentatively concluded this year's industry-wide collective bargaining through negotiations with Lee Nal (CEO).
As a result of this agreement, bank branch opening hours will be changed to 9:30 a.m. starting next April. Currently, bank operating hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. With the opening time delayed by 30 minutes, the daily customer service duration at branches will also decrease by 30 minutes compared to before.
Labor and management also reached an agreement on wage increases and improvements in working conditions. The tentative agreement includes: a 3.0% increase in total wages; introduction of an autonomous attendance system for work-life balance; establishment of a Friday last-call (customer closing) system along with compensatory leave; improvement of the mystery shopping system; expansion of parental leave eligibility to include children up to sixth grade; and extension of working hour adjustment systems.
Adjustment of branch operating hours is one of the key issues demanded by the Financial Industry Union. The purpose is to reduce the gap between employees' working hours and customer service hours at bank branches and to improve working conditions.
The Financial Industry Union will hold a representative meeting on the 29th with participation from 43 local unions to proceed with the final confirmation process of the tentative agreement. Matters such as binding force for individual banks and whether application is voluntary will be clarified during the subsequent processes following the finalization of the industry-wide agreement and follow-up negotiations. Local union consultations are expected to begin in earnest from early November.
With the labor-management negotiations tentatively concluded, the second general strike by the Financial Industry Union, originally scheduled for the 30th, has been canceled. The union had previously warned that it would proceed with a second general strike if no progress was made in negotiations.
A representative of the Financial Industry Union stated, "We plan to hold a representative meeting based on the tentatively agreed content and ask whether to proceed as is."
in FINANCE
