SPC Group announced on the 27th that it will eliminate overtime exceeding 8 hours during night shifts at all its subsidiary production sites and will reformulate the work system for production staff by subsidiary for a pilot operation starting on the 1st of next month.
According to SPC Group, it plans to abolish night shifts exceeding 8 hours and either introduce three shifts or operate intermediate shifts. The intermediate shift is a work form meant to fill the time gaps created by reduced night work. For this, approximately 250 additional production workers will be hired. Among SPC Group's total workforce of over 22,000, about 6,500 are production staff, leading to an approximate 4% increase in production personnel.
Specifically, the bakery line at the SPC Samlip Siwha Factory plans to introduce a three-shift system and temporarily operate for six days a week. Production staff working hours will be reduced from 52 hours a week to less than 48 hours a week. The SPL will introduce an intermediate shift system between the existing day and night shifts and implement a six-day work week on some lines to reduce night work hours. Companies like Paris Croissant, Shany, and BR Korea have also provisionally agreed with labor unions on solutions suited to their respective field environments.
SPC Group has decided to increase the base salary of each company to address wage reduction issues arising from reduced working hours. Additionally, it has established new allowances and compensated by increasing the ratio of holiday and night shift allowances. For instance, SPC Samlip has decided to increase the base salary and raise the holiday allowance rate from 50% to 75% to compensate for wage reductions due to reduced night and working hours. SPL has not only increased the night shift allowance rate from 50% to 79% but also decided to provide a special allowance.
Regarding this, it is reported that a provisional agreement has been reached through labor-management consultations. Future collective agreements will cover only parts that require additional adjustments. In particular, it is expected that the overall reform in work systems, including additional employment and wage maintenance, will incur additional expenses of 33 billion won annually across the SPC Group. This amounts to about 43% of its overall operating profit of 76.8 billion won for 2024.
Each subsidiary of SPC Group plans to conduct a pilot operation of the new work system throughout September to inspect the system and incorporate additional feedback, aiming for full implementation across the board by Oct. 1. An SPC Group representative noted, "The six-day work week is set to transition to a five-day work week next year through additional recruitment".
Meanwhile, SPC Group had announced on the 27th of last month, right after President Lee Jae-myung's visit to the SPC Samlip Siwha Factory, that it plans to limit production night shifts to within 8 hours starting on Oct. 1 to eliminate extended overtime. Following this, SPC Group has been carrying out adjustments to the production structure and work system while engaging in negotiations with each subsidiary's representative labor unions.
An SPC Group representative stated, "In efforts to achieve the overarching goal of strengthening worker safety, we have worked to find the best direction together with the representative labor unions of each company," adding, "Alongside the restructuring of the work system, we will expedite the enhancement of the workers' right to stop unsafe work and the construction of safe, smart new factories, dedicating all efforts to strengthening safety."