[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The city announced on the 14th that it will implement a three-year plan to improve the treatment of social welfare facility workers by 2023, in accordance with the "Ordinance for the Improvement of Treatment and Status of Social Workers, etc."
Reflecting the results of a survey conducted last year and the opinions of workers on the ground, the city has set four key tasks: ▲improving the wage system ▲expanding welfare benefits ▲enhancing job competency ▲strengthening public-private cooperation.
Accordingly, the city plans to focus on reducing the wage gap between city-funded facilities and those subsidized by national funds.
The goal is to raise the annual wages of 1,575 workers at national fund facilities, whose pay levels are relatively low, by 3% each year, increasing from the current 91% to the 100% level set as a guideline by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The city will also adjust the recognized overtime hours for city-funded facility workers to 15 hours per month, expanding it to the level of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.
In this regard, the city plans to complete a research project by November this year to establish a unified wage system for workers at both city-funded and national fund facilities.
Additionally, the city will introduce a mandatory promotion system for lower-ranking workers for the first time nationwide, aiming to retain excellent social welfare personnel in Incheon without them moving to other cities or provinces, ensuring stable employment.
For welfare benefits, the city will extend the paid sick leave of 60 days per year, previously supported only for city-funded facility workers, to those at national fund facilities as well, and will continue to support comprehensive health check-up expenses, welfare points, child care leave, and long-term service leave.
Furthermore, to enhance workers' job competencies, the city will support social worker training fees and overseas advanced site visits, and strengthen communication with the social welfare field by jointly hosting an annual 2-day, 1-night public-private cooperation workshop with the Incheon Social Workers Association.
Mayor Park Namchun stated, "To provide high-quality social welfare services to citizens, improving the treatment and status of social workers must go hand in hand," adding, "We will continue to strive to improve the treatment of workers so that capable and excellent social workers can work stably in Incheon."
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