The Financial Industry Labor Union (Financial Union), the higher-level organization of the banking sector labor unions, has announced a general strike scheduled for the 26th of next month. The Financial Union is demanding a 5% wage increase and the introduction of a 4.5-day workweek this year.
In recent years, the Financial Union has repeatedly declared a breakdown in negotiations and warned of a general strike after proposing wage increases that are difficult for management to accept and reductions in working hours.
According to the financial sector on the 5th, the Financial Union plans to hold a resolution rally for a full-scale struggle on the 16th of next month and is determined to initiate a general strike on the 26th.
When management did not accept the wage increase and reduction in working hours proposals, the Financial Union declared a breakdown in negotiations in June and applied for mediation with the Central Labor Relations Commission. Management and the Financial Union failed to reach an agreement even after the second mediation meeting of the commission. The union secured the right to strike due to the breakdown of mediation and set the general strike schedule after a referendum among its members.
Management and the Financial Union have been unable to narrow their differences regarding the introduction of a 4.5-day workweek. The union demands that the banking sector proactively implement the 4.5-day workweek, but management insists on first observing the government's legal amendments.
The union is committed to ensuring the implementation of a 4.5-day workweek. The union recently held a meeting with the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning to advocate for the proactive introduction of a 4.5-day workweek in the financial sector.
Discrepancies over the wage increase rate continue to exist. The union has proposed a 5% wage increase, while management has suggested a 2.4% increase. Since there is a high possibility of finding a last-minute agreement on the wage increase rate, the introduction of the 4.5-day workweek is the major point of contention in labor-management negotiations.
The union has also taken steps towards a strike while demanding a reduction in working hours and a wage increase for 2023-2024. However, it canceled the strike after reaching a last-minute agreement. The union is committed to continuing a hardline struggle regarding the introduction of the 4.5-day workweek this year, so the possibility of an actual general strike cannot be ruled out. The union conducted a general strike in 2022 while demanding a wage increase.