The IBK Corporation Bank labor union will hold its first-ever general strike due to wage discrimination and unpaid allowances. With over 60% of all employees expected to participate, inconvenience is unavoidable at branches nationwide.
According to the financial sector on the 27th, the IBK Corporation Bank union officially announced the general strike. In the earlier vote on labor actions held on the 12th, 88% of union members participated, with 95%, or 6,241 members, in favor.
It is expected that about 8,000 members, excluding team leaders and higher-level employees, will participate in the strike. Considering that the number of IBK Corporation Bank employees is around 13,000, approximately 61% of all employees will be involved in the strike.
The union claims that IBK Corporation Bank pays 30% less than commercial bank employees due to its status as a public institution and does not pay any overtime allowances, which can reach about 6 million won per person, because of the government's total labor cost restrictions. According to the union, the average wage of the top four commercial banks at the end of last year was around 116 million won, while the average salary at IBK Corporation Bank is 85 million won.
Moreover, the union argues that while the Ministry of Finance and Economy has collected more than 1.1 trillion won in dividends over the past three years, the special performance bonuses paid to employees are merely 0 won. The union has been negotiating wages and collective agreements since September, but discussions have broken down.
Chairperson Kim Hyung-seon of the IBK Corporation Bank branch said, "All union members are scheduled to gather in front of the IBK Corporation Bank headquarters and march to the government building for a concluding rally today," warning that if the government and the bank do not meet the workers' demands, they could paralyze bank operations through the second and third general strikes.
Disruptions to IBK Corporation Bank's operations as a result of the general strike are expected to be unavoidable. The IBK Corporation Bank union has noted that it will send and post notices explaining the current situation at each bank branch to consider customer inconvenience during the strike.
The management of IBK Corporation Bank also announced on the company intranet last week a request for non-union employees to refrain from using annual leave on the day of the general strike. The plan is to continue sales operations with the work of non-union members, such as branch managers and team leaders.
An official from IBK Corporation Bank said, "We will do our best to minimize customer inconvenience by providing prior notifications to customers and assigning non-union personnel to branches."