High-paid bankers' full strike threat gets cold reception by public in S. Korea

[Photo Han Joo-hyung]

The Korean Financial Industry Union (KFIC) has been urging its members, from both private commercial lenders and state-run banks, to join a full strike scheduled on Friday after failing to reach an agreement with management on collective bargaining terms, but it has received a lukewarm response for the industry’s first full strike in six years.

The KFIC members on Aug. 19 voted for a full strike, approved by 93.4 percent. According to the result, the labor union has been urging all its members to join the walk-out planned for Friday.

It has decided to go on a full strike tomorrow after the unionized workers and management of financial service firms have failed to narrow the gap in the collective bargaining terms. Their latest negotiations on Wednesday also ended without agreement.

The workers are demanding a 5.2 percent raise in wage along with improvement in employment conditions, including a reduction in work hours and revision in performance review system. In addition, the workers’ union of Korea Development Bank is demanding to cancel the government’s plan to relocate the state bank from Seoul to Busan.

The KFIC expects about 100,000 members from some 7,000 offices and bank branches across the country to join the strike.

However, industry observers expect a much smaller number of bankers would join tomorrow’s strike since the public is not supportive of the strike by high-paid bankers whose average salary is estimated at more than 100 million won ($71,617.85).

It would be the first full strike by the Korean financial industry since September 2016 if they go on strike tomorrow as planned. However, the 2016 walkout was also joined by only 15 percent of all unionized bank workers and 3 percent from the top 4 commercial banks.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]