Financial labor and management agree to increase wages by 3.0% next year and expand youth internships
Quick Look
- The Financial Industry Employers' Council and the Korea Financial Industry Workers' Union agreed to delay bank business start times from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. from April next year and set the wage increase rate at 3.0% of total wages.
- In addition, we decided to work together to strengthen the social role of the financial industry by expanding the recruitment of young interns and introducing a voluntary attendance system.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Financial Industry Employers' Council and the Korea Financial Industry Workers' Union conclude wage and collective agreements every year, and this year, they discussed ways to increase wages and strengthen social roles, along with adjusting business hours to reflect the spread of digital finance and changes in customer usage patterns.
The Financial Industry Employers' Council and the Korea Financial Industry Workers' Union signed next year's wage agreement and collective agreement on the 6th.
According to a press release distributed by the Employers' Council on this day, financial labor and management agreed to change the opening hours of bank branches from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. from April next year.
It was explained that this is a measure to reflect changes in the financial environment and customer usage patterns, such as the spread of digital finance, and to be more faithful to customer service and financial consumer protection through sufficient work preparation before sales.
The financial labor and management also agreed on next year's wage increase rate to be 3.0% of total wages.
In addition, we decided to work together to strengthen the social role of the financial industry, including expanding employment and contributing to society.
Specifically, it was agreed to expand the recruitment of young interns to approximately 10,000 people, depending on the circumstances of each institution, using an amount equivalent to 0.75% of total wages.
It was decided to cooperate by contributing 0.25% of total wages to the Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation so that it can be used for job expansion projects.
In addition, the financial labor and management decided to operate a 'voluntary attendance system' that allows employees to report to work within 30 minutes of the start of work within an hour per week.
Additionally, it was agreed that if employees were unable to leave work one hour early on Friday, that time could be accumulated and used as compensatory leave.
Cho Yong-byeong, chairman of the Financial Industry Employers' Council, said, "This agreement is meaningful in that labor and management have come together not only to increase wages but also to strengthen the social role of the financial industry, including expansion of employment and social contribution."
He continued, “We will strive to improve the quality of customer service and be more faithful to financial consumer protection through sufficient work preparation before sales under the five-day workweek system.”
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Starting next April, bank branch opening times will be changed to 9:30 a.m.
Very likely · Within months
Recruitment of young interns will expand to approximately 10,000 people with resources equivalent to 0.75% of total wages.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- How will the specific target banks and period of expansion of youth intern recruitment be determined?
- How will the voluntary attendance system actually operate and how will employee participation rates be measured?
- What is the specific scale and execution plan of the job expansion project through the Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation?
