Shinhan, IBK unions seek four-day workweek

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By Park Jae-hyuk

Unionized workers at Shinhan Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) are asking their managements to institute a four-day workweek, backed by presidential candidates including Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Sim Sang-jeung of the minor opposition Justice Party.

Shinhan Bank union leader Kim Jin-hong, who was reelected earlier this month, is in talks with the bank's management to test a four-and-a-half-day workweek next year, as a preparatory step to a four-day workweek which he promised to the union members.

According to the union, the four-and-a-half-day workweek will not reduce the bank's regular weekly working time from 40 hours. Under the system, employees are just allowed to work for only four hours on one of five weekdays, if they can finish doing the remaining four hours of work during the other four weekdays.

IBK union leader Kim Hyung-seon, who was reelected last month, also promised the union members that he will continue making efforts for the introduction of a four-day workweek to the nation's banking industry.

The state-run bank's unionized workers have been demanding a reduction of the workweek since earlier this year. They met the Justice Party presidential candidate on Nov. 1 to discuss this issue.

In Korea, several mobile platform providers, such as Woowa Brothers, Viva Republica and Good Choice Company, and conglomerates like SK Group are testing a four-and-a-half-day workweek for their employees to use their time more flexibly.

However, there remain concerns about the possibility of banks instituting a four-day workweek, because elderly financial consumers here, who are unfamiliar with online banking, have already felt inconvenienced with banks shortening their business hours and shutting down their branches.

In addition, the bank unions are asking the management not to cut their salaries even after the introduction of a four-day workweek, so some young jobseekers expressed worries about the probability of banks becoming more reluctant to hire new employees.