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| Union members of MSD Korea stage a protest demanding wage negotiation and improvements in the employee monitoring program in front of the global drug maker's Korea headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, June 10. Courtesy of the MSD Korea union |
By Nam Hyun-woo
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| MSD Korea CEO Avi Ben-Shoshan |
The measure is also drawing a backlash from doctors who have come into contact with MSD salespeople. The doctors say the drug firm treats them as "potential criminals" as its monitoring program hires outside agents and collects the content of conversations in doctor-salesperson meetings regarding MSD products.
Union workers recently wrapped up a five-week protest in front of the company's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. In the protest, the members demanded negotiations for a wage hike and the improvement of the monitoring program.
MSD Korea is an affiliate of U.S.-based pharmaceutical company Merck, and is one of the leading foreign prescription medicine and vaccine providers in Korea.
The Self-Assurance Program was started in 2017 to ensure employees abided by the company's ethics regulations.
Under the program, hired agents are dispatched to MSD Korea sales employees' meetings with groups of doctors ― mostly conducted over lunch or dinner ― and collect various kinds of information to check whether the salespersons violated the company's ethics codes or bribed customers. The union said the information includes transcripts of conversations during meetings.
The union members said in the early stages of the program they were given notice one day prior to meetings that would be monitored by agents, so that they could explain to their customers why an extra person would be present to monitor their sales activities and transcribe their conversations.
The protest came after MSD Korea told its employees that the program would go into "full-scale application" early last month. This means that monitoring agents will be dispatched without prior notice and will also monitor meetings with smaller groups of doctors.
"We feel like we're under surveillance even though we are not doing anything illegal or breaking the company's ethics code, and we believe the monitoring could be seen as an infringement of privacy," an official at the union said.
"It's hard to talk to customers when we feel like we're being watched by someone we don't know. Some customers said they don't want to meet our sales representatives as long as monitoring agents accompany them."
The members are demanding the company monitor them only to check "basic information serving the purpose of the program" ― such as whether they are offering bribes to customers or that the number of clients reported are accurate ― and not take transcripts of the meetings. The union said, however, the company has been reiterating that the monitoring program at MSD is consistent internationally, so employees in Korea should either cooperate with the program or not have group meetings with doctors.
"No one feels free of pressure when every word they say is being transcribed by a stranger," said a Seoul-based doctor who had been monitored in a group meeting with MSD Korea salespersons.
When The Korea Times asked about the program, MSD Korea sent an official statement that read: "MSD's first step is always to comply with the laws and regulations that govern the way we market and sell our medicines, vaccines and other products. The Self-Assurance Program has been part of that commitment."
An official at MSD Korea also stressed that the program is an "internationally applied" regulation, thus MSD Korea cannot ask for an exemption or change the headquarters' direction in a way suitable for the Korean market.
The official also said outside agents are reporting excerpts of the meetings' minutes and do not reveal the identity of the speakers.
Despite the company's explanation, industry officials are also raising questions about the necessity of such a strong monitoring system.
"These days, neither foreign drug makers nor domestic drug makers lobby doctors and hospitals through what can be seen as bribery," a salesperson at a domestic drug maker said. "I can understand MSD's purpose of monitoring, but excessive practice is rather discouraging for sales employees."
