Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) has paid all 83 billion won in additional allowances accrued for employees over the past several years. But inside the bank, some note that the fundamental problem that unpaid allowances keep piling up has not been resolved, as repeated overtime due to a staff shortage makes it hard to take leave.
According to ChosunBiz reporting compiled on the 19th, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) made a lump-sum payment of 83 billion won in unpaid allowances on the 15th. After the Financial Services Commission sent an official letter on the 14th approving the allowance payment to Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), the bank convened its board the very next day and resolved to pay the unpaid allowances. As a state-run bank subject to a total personnel cost system, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) has a set ceiling on labor costs, and spending beyond that requires approval from the Financial Services Commission.
Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) paid in cash for up to 13 hours of overtime per month, and anything beyond that was granted as compensatory leave. However, as the compensatory leave went unused and accumulated over several years, the unpaid amount swelled to 83 billion won.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) approved the payment of unpaid allowances to Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) while instructing the bank to devise measures to prevent a recurrence. This was the first time a state-run bank received an exception to the aggregates personnel cost cap. Labor and management at Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) agreed on efficiency measures, such as creating staffing conditions that allow compensatory leave accrued from overtime to be used in a timely manner.
However, voices inside the bank say little has changed even after the efficiency plan was introduced. A person at Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) said, "In a situation with too few hands, taking compensatory leave would impose a huge burden on colleagues, so it's not easy to use it."
Ultimately, to fundamentally resolve the situation, the personnel cost ceiling needs to be raised to account for unpaid allowances that will arise each year, or staffing must be increased to implement the labor-management efficiency plan. The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) labor union is demanding both. Raising the personnel cost ceiling falls under the Financial Services Commission (FSC), while additional hiring and increasing the headcount quota fall under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. In the industry, there is a view that both raising the personnel cost ceiling and expanding the headcount quota are unlikely to be adjusted to the level desired by Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) labor and management in the short term.