Labor Day is not holiday to all

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Is Labor Day an official public holiday or not?

It’s not but few would know it by the confusion among citizens, not knowing what services were available and what were not.

Most employees at private firms were off, while civil servants reported to work Wednesday.

Banks and the stock market were closed, but post offices provide limited financial services. Teachers worked.

The problem was when it came to public services, social networking services well capturing the confusion.

Twitter, for instance, abounded with questions and answers about whether libraries and other public institutes were open or closed.

A Twitter user with ID “Mieun” tweeted: “I don’t understand why the library near my home is closed although it’s not a public holiday.”

Some drivers complained about tolls they had to pay. .

“I thought it was free but they charged at one of the Mt. Nam tunnels,” said Shim, an office worker.

Under the Labor Law, all private sector employees are entitled to have a day off on May 1, but not public sector workers.

Park Jong-cheon, a certified labor attorney, said this is because civil servants are subject to another law dealing with their working conditions and duties.

Those in the public sector are restricted from exercising certain basic rights, such as the freedom of association.

An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government said he took it for granted that civil servants work on Labor Day.

“We have been working under such a rule since we began our career in government. Few civil servants complain,” he said.