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Financial district in Yeouido, Seoul / gettyimagesbank
By Jun Ji-hye
Unionized workers in the financial industry are facing criticism for requesting that management push their start time from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., delaying the beginning of their workday by 30 minutes.
These workers claim that they have been unable to have breakfast with their family because they have to go to work early, but critics say delaying the start time of bank branch operations will only cause inconvenience to consumers.
Currently, bank operating hours in Korea are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The Korea Financial Industry Union (KFIU) held a rally in Seoul on Wednesday, seemingly to showcase its strength in anticipation of a planned general strike set for Sept. 25.
The core demand of the union includes shifting the start time of bank operations from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
“Although the working hours in the employment contract are from 9 a.m., bank employees are constantly pressured to arrive at work before 8:30 a.m.,” Kim Hyung-sun, the head of the union, said.
The union has also adopted the slogan, “Have breakfast with the kids,” highlighting the dissatisfaction among bank employees who feel they have no time to have breakfast with their family due to the early work start time.
The union is also demanding a 36-hour, 4.5-day workweek, citing it as the “only solution” to address the low birthrate issue faced by the country.
The union argued that implementing a shorter workweek would allow more time for families to spend together, thereby helping to resolve the low birthrate problem, and would also increase opportunities to visit regional areas, potentially addressing the issue of regional depopulation.
If their demands are not accepted, the union plans to go on a general strike participated in by 100,000 financial workers on Sept. 25 in central Seoul.
However, members of the pubic are showing negative reactions to the demands made by the workers who earn more than 100 million won ($74,000) a year on average.
“There are many people who start work at 8 a.m. So, what are they talking about? Do they want to implement a 4-day workweek and shorten work hours? If salaries are cut accordingly, I would consider it reasonable,” an internet user commented on the related news story.
Another user wrote, “For those who have to work additional jobs like delivery or driving after their main job to support their families, it’s hard not to laugh at such demands.”
The average annual salary of employees at the five major banks – Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup – came to 112 million won last year, according to the banks’ half-year reports. This is the first time the average salary at these banks has exceeded 110 million won.
During the first half of this year, employees at the four major banks – Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori – received 60.5 million won on average, surpassing major corporations such as Samsung Electronics with 54 million won and Hyundai Motor with 42 million won.