Non-regular school workers launch relay strike nationwide

Students eat school meals at an elementary school in Seoul, March 31, 2023. Korea Times file

Non-regular school workers, mostly cafeteria cooks and after-school day care service assistants, said Thursday they will go on a one-day general strike in each region over the next two weeks after wage negotiations with the education authorities fell through.

The National School Non-regular Workers Solidarity Council, which represents about 94,000 members affiliated with several occupational unions, said its one-day general walkout is set to be staged in Seoul, Incheon, Gangwon, Sejong and the central province of North Chungcheong on Thursday.

The council has held collective wage negotiations with the education authorities since August but decided to launch the strike after failing to reach an agreement.

It said the strike will last one day in each region until early next month.

On Friday, non-regular workers in Gwangju, the southwestern provinces of Jeolla and Jeju will walk off the job. Council members in Gyeonggi Province, Daejeon and the central province of South Chungcheong will go on strike on Dec. 4 and those in Busan, Daegu, Ulsan and the southeastern provinces of South Gyeongsang and North Gyeongsang will join the move the following day.

The education authorities have devised countermeasures, fearing that the strike by those mostly involved in providing meals and child care may disrupt school operations.

In the case of school meals, each school plans to flexibly adjust the menu or provide alternative foods, such as bread and milk. Schools will also provide alternative day care programs to ensure that their after-school service would operate normally.

A year ago, the non-regular school workers staged a one-day general strike in early December, prompting many schools to replace lunch meal with bread and milk and recruit volunteers for after-school child care programs.