With the Financial Industry Labor Union, the umbrella group for bank labor unions, entering a dispute process, it is moving toward a general strike again this year.
According to the financial sector on the 13th, the Employers' Council, made up of bank management, and the Financial Industry Labor Union will hold a second dispute-mediation meeting at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) that day. The NLRC was said to be likely to decide to halt mediation if the two sides fail to find common ground that day. If mediation is halted, the union can move to a general strike after a vote by members on whether to take industrial action. In the first NLRC mediation on the 7th, the two sides only confirmed differences over wage talks and collective bargaining agenda items.
The union declared a breakdown in wage and collective bargaining talks on the 24th of last month and shifted to a struggle posture. The union is demanding a 6% wage increase this year, adoption of a 4.5-day workweek, extension of the retirement age to 65, and abolition of the wage-peak system. The union initially demanded an 8% wage increase, but lowered its demand to 6% in talks on the 24th. Management proposed a 2.5% increase.
Management says it is difficult to accept the union's wage demand, citing growing internal and external uncertainties such as Middle East–driven geopolitical risks, interest and exchange rate volatility, and household liability burdens. It also opposes adopting a 4.5-day workweek, saying a decision should wait until after watching the government's policy direction.
In the financial sector, there is an outlook that the union's struggle will intensify this year because it is a year when wages and the collective agreement are negotiated together, and the issue of public institutions' regional transfer is also intertwined. The union side said, "We will shift to an organized struggle posture and see through the demands of 100,000 financial workers to the end."
The Financial Industry Labor Union staged a general strike on Sept. 26 last year, demanding adoption of a 4.5-day workweek and a wage increase. At the time, fewer than 1% of all employees at the five major banks—KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NongHyup—were estimated to have participated. This year, the average annual salary at the four major commercial banks is estimated at 122.75 million won.