Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Security guards flexing muscles against banks
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By Park Jae-hyuk
By Park Jae-hyuk
Subcontracted security guards at commercial banks have begun to organize a union under the umbrella of the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) to urge banks to guarantee their rights, according to industry officials, Thursday.
Considering subcontracted employees in other industries are taking advantage of the Moon Jae-in administration's labor-friendly policies in winning regular positions, it is expected bank security workers will further pressure their prime contractors to hire them directly.
If so, lenders will suffer another unfavorable factor, in addition to a worsening business environment and intensifying conflict with the Korean Financial Industry Union under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions.
According to the left-wing Justice Party, Bank Security Solidarity (BSS) demanded the Ministry of Employment and Labor supervise banks to check whether they have assigned their security guards tasks irrelevant to their own duties or not.
The BSS, which was formed in 2017 by subcontracted security guards at commercial banks, has claimed that bank employees have ordered them to do irrelevant work, such as loan services, currency-counting and financial product promotions.
The law bans prime contractors from giving direct orders to subcontracted workers.
The Justice Party said in a statement that banks have broken the law to save costs.
“The government should restore order and check violations of laws through labor inspections,” said Choi Gang-yeon, a certified labor affairs consultant with the party.
BSS leader Lee Tae-hoon said: “We will listen to complaints from bank security guards and make efforts to improve their working conditions.”
The organization also created a website and a YouTube channel during the second half of last year.
BSS gave support to a rally in July 2019 by subcontracted security guards working at the Korea Post's savings and insurance bureau, which was held to call for direct employment.
The security guards, who are employees of the Postal Facility Management Agency, have already organized their labor union under the KCTU, so as to demand the Korea Post hire them directly and pay them a higher salary.
Apart from this, the Youth Community Union urged KB Kookmin Bank in December 2018 to hire its security guards directly, after it was revealed a Kookmin Bank worker had ordered a security guard to apologize to a customer, although the customer had assaulted the guard.
In addition, a petitioner claiming to be a security guard at the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) wrote on the Cheong Wa Dae website that the government should order the state-run bank to hire its security guards directly.
These demands, however, are contradictory to a recent trend at banks.
Amid deteriorating profitability, they have reduced their workforce for better efficiency.
According to industry officials, the nation's five-largest banks ― Shinhan, KB Kookmin, KEB Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup ― collectively let 8,661 workers go between 2017 and 2019.