A union of non-regular school workers, including school meal and care workers, will begin a "relay strike" on the 20th. The Ministry of Education said it will respond by providing alternative meals such as fruit and bread and preparing alternative care programs.
According to relevant ministries on the 19th, meal and Neulbom workers affiliated with the National School Irregular Workers' Solidarity Council (Solidarity Council) will start a "relay general strike" on the 20th. The strike schedule is: ▲ on the 20th, Seoul, Incheon, Gangwon, North Chungcheong, Sejong ▲ on the 21st, the Honam region ▲ on Dec. 4, Gyeonggi, Daejeon, South Chungcheong ▲ on Dec. 5, the Yeongnam region.
The Solidarity Council decided to launch this strike after failing to reach a wage agreement with the education authorities. The two sides held a total of seven negotiations and meetings—three main talks beginning with the first main session on Aug. 28, and four working-level talks—but failed to reach an agreement.
The Solidarity Council is demanding: ▲ an increase in base pay ▲ resolution of unpaid status during school breaks ▲ elimination of seniority-based wage discrimination ▲ elimination of discrimination in benefits. Among these, resolving unpaid status for cafeteria cooking staff and others who have no work during school breaks is known to be particularly difficult to narrow differences on.
The Ministry of Education and 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education set up situation rooms to respond to urgent matters during the strike. First, schools will adjust their lunch menus, and if providing meals is difficult, they will offer alternative meals such as bread and fruit. Neulbom Schools plan to operate normally on strike days by offering alternative programs. To minimize infringement on the learning rights of students with disabilities, they plan to support flexible operations such as shortened classes, care activities, and part-time special classes.
The number of participants in the strike has not yet been tallied. The Ministry of Education plans to disclose the tally of participants on the day of the strike.
A Ministry of Education official said, "It seems this week's general strike will have to proceed as is," and added, "For the Dec. 4–5 strike, we will try to negotiate as much as possible together with the metropolitan and provincial offices of education."
Meanwhile, the Solidarity Council includes the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) National School Irregular Workers' Union, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Public Transport Workers' Union National Education Public Officials' Headquarters, and the Korean Women Workers' Union. As of April, about 94,000 education public service workers were members.