Financial Labor and Management Join Hands to Overcome COVID-19... "Sharing the Pain of Small Business Owners"

Kim Tae-young, Chairman of the Financial Industry User Council (Chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks) (right), and Park Hong-bae, Chairman of the Financial Industry Labor Union, are posing for a commemorative photo after signing a joint declaration between labor and management to overcome the COVID-19 crisis at the Bankers' Hall in Myeong-dong, Seoul, on the 28th. Photo by Korea Federation of Banks

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Labor and management in the financial sector have joined hands to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The Financial Industry Employers' Council and the National Financial Industry Labor Union announced a joint declaration on the 28th to prevent and curb the spread of COVID-19.

The financial labor and management presented practical tasks to fulfill their social responsibility. First, they agreed to actively support credit assistance such as extending grace periods without repayment, deferring installment repayments, and supplying new credit to small business owners facing difficulties due to COVID-19. Additionally, employers agreed to share the burden of small business owners' hardships by temporarily reducing rent for tenants of real estate owned by financial institutions.

Furthermore, the financial labor and management decided to allow employees to take leave if they participate in blood donation to help overcome the decline in blood donations caused by COVID-19.

They also pledged to protect financial consumers and financial sector workers.

The financial labor and management agreed to actively respond by closing branches for the necessary period if an employee or customer is confirmed to have COVID-19 at bank branches, and by isolating employees suspected of infection. Isolated employees will be granted paid leave.

If a suspected case occurs among employees' family members, they will also self-quarantine for the necessary period and be granted paid leave. Employees are encouraged to take leave if they need to care for children due to school closures or other reasons.

In particular, they agreed to prioritize employees who may be at risk if infected with COVID-19, such as pregnant women and those with chronic severe illnesses, by allowing telecommuting or granting paid leave.

They also allowed adjustments to commuting hours. Especially, banks located in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions may shorten their business hours by one hour from the usual schedule. In this case, a plan will be prepared to temporarily reduce or waive fees for non-face-to-face transactions such as internet banking and automated teller machines (ATMs) exclusively for customers in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions.

Kim Tae-young, chairman of the Financial Employers' Council and the Korea Federation of Banks, said, “I hope that the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, which have been most affected by COVID-19, will overcome the crisis and return to normal as soon as possible.”

Park Hong-bae, chairman of the Financial Labor Union, said, “I hope that the joint efforts of labor and management in the financial sector will help overcome the COVID-19 crisis, even if only a little.”