Strike Participation Rate 3.9%
Kitchen Assistants Most Numerous
Most Care Classrooms Operating
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] As negotiations over severance pay between the Office of Education and educational public service workers hit a deadlock, school meals were suspended at 35 schools in Seoul on the 20th.
Among the 33 schools unable to provide meals, alternative meals such as bread and beverages were served for lunch, while 2 schools required students to bring their own lunchboxes.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, out of 16,530 educational public service workers at 1,026 schools, 640 (3.9%) participated in the strike that day.
The largest group was kitchen assistants with 209 participants, followed by kindergarten educare instructors with 78, special education assistants with 59, and cooks with 49.
In the case of after-school care classrooms, only five schools, including care specialists, participated in the strike, so most operated normally.
The Seoul School Irregular Workers Solidarity, which held the strike rally that day, is demanding improvements to the retirement pension system from the Office of Education. The Solidarity conveyed to the Office of Education a request to convert the defined contribution (DC) type retirement pension, which about 77% of union members are enrolled in, to a defined benefit (DB) type. The Seoul Office of Education proposed a compromise plan mixing both types at 50% each, but the Solidarity rejected it.
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