School irregular workers go on 27-day general strike... “Withdraw grant reform” (comprehensive)

Non-regular school workers will go on a general strike on the 27th, demanding the government withdraw its local education financial subsidy reform plan and improve the low wage structure. As a result, there are concerns about disruptions to educational settings, including school meals.

The National School Non-regular Workers' Union (Congress), which consists of the National Education Civil Service Headquarters, the National Women's Labor Union, and the National School Non-regular Workers' Union, announced on the 9th that it will go on a general strike on the 27th.

The National School Non-regular Workers' Union held a press conference at the union conference room in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on this day and emphasized, "We express great concern about the possibility that the education grant reform will weaken the stability of education finances and the resources for improving school personnel and treatment, and we regret that it was promoted without sufficient discussion with education stakeholders."

At the same time, they requested ▲ withdrawal of the education grant reform plan ▲ use of excess tax revenue for educational welfare, care, and resolving inequality ▲ specifications of school personnel and treatment resources ▲ guarantee of participation and consultation of education entities.

Min Tae-ho, chairman of the National School Non-regular Workers' Union, declared a general strike regarding the government's education grant reform plan, saying, "It will not only suppress budget security and manpower expansion to eliminate discrimination against school non-regular workers, but will also ruin the future of children and the country."

Chairman Min said that irregular school workers across the country plan to hold a large rally in front of the National Assembly on the day of the general strike.

The Seoul branch of the Korean Women's Union also held a separate press conference in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on this day and claimed, "If the local education finance system is reorganized according to the government's plan, a crisis in school meals and, by extension, the entire education welfare system will soon arrive."

He added, “It is obvious that this crisis will not only be directly related to students, but will also have a negative impact on educational and civil service workers, who are an important axis of school operation.”

In addition, Minister of Education Choi Kyo-jin and superintendents of education across the country must resolve the low-wage structure of educational civil servants, urging them to "resolve discrimination not just in words, but in practice by improving actual treatment."

In a vote on industrial action for a general strike and all-out struggle held by the Solidarity Conference from the 19th to the 26th of last month, the industrial action was passed with a 92.5% approval rate.

Previously, the Ministry of Education submitted a revision to the Education Grants Act to the National Assembly last September, which included abolishing the indexation system that automatically allocates 20.79% of domestic taxes as local education financial grants.

However, there is continued opposition from the education community, saying that the reform of the Education Grant Act will reduce investment in elementary and secondary education.