Post Office's 'Gapjil' or Janitors' 'Euljil'?

Controversy Surrounding Disciplinary Actions Over Breaks During Working Hours

Seoul Gwanghwamun Post Office. Archive photo. Not related to the article.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Recently, a controversy has arisen over whether the disciplinary action taken against cleaning workers at Bupyeong Post Office in Incheon for resting in the break room during working hours is an example of the post office's 'gapjil' (abuse of power) or the cleaning workers' 'euljil' (subordinate's misconduct).

According to the National Democratic Post Office Headquarters and the Post Office Facility Management Team under the Korea Post, last month the management team caught cleaning workers at Bupyeong Post Office resting in the break room for 30 minutes starting at 9 a.m., which is during working hours, and issued a 'warning' for violating work rules. In response, the National Democratic Post Office Headquarters filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission on the 19th, calling it an "unfair human rights violation." They argued that it is unfair to penalize workers for taking a short break after working hard for about three hours since their usual 6 a.m. start time, labeling it as poor attendance. They also appealed that since work performance evaluations are conducted twice a year, receiving even one disciplinary action resulting in point deductions effectively makes contract renewal impossible.

They also criticized the Post Office Facility Management Team for their high-handed attitude during the investigation, including confiscating mobile phones and prohibiting recordings. These claims were reported by several media outlets on the day, leading to a flood of criticism against the Facility Management Team in the comments. One media outlet particularly stirred public outrage by reporting that "after receiving disciplinary action, the workers anxiously take brief rests by squatting in the bathrooms, stairs, and hallways, fearing further penalties." One netizen pointed out, "It's normal to take short breaks to work efficiently. What is this? Even the military allows 10 minutes of rest after 50 minutes of work." Another netizen expressed sympathy, saying, "The harsh reality of low-wage workers is heartbreaking."

However, the Post Office Facility Management Team has strongly denied these claims made by the cleaning workers. They stated that since the workers themselves requested the change in break time and then used it according to the previous rules, issuing the lightest disciplinary action as a caution was appropriate, and calling it a 'human rights violation' is excessive. On the 20th, the management team released a statement explaining that the recent break time inspection was prompted by a request for an audit from a cleaning worker at Bupyeong Post Office on the 9th of last month regarding colleagues not adhering to break times. There was an internal issue among the cleaning workers about whether taking a 30-minute break starting at 9 a.m. violated regulations.

According to the management team, the Korea Post Headquarters and the union (now the National Democratic Post Office Headquarters) initially requested in September and October 2015 to eliminate the morning break time (30 minutes starting at 9 a.m.) and to shorten the end of work by 30 minutes (from 4:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.). Following a survey conducted among cleaning workers in November of the same year, which showed a high approval rate of 87.7%, the management team officially implemented the change by modifying the employment contracts in January of the following year.

The management team also refuted claims that workers had no rest areas and had to rest in metal structures or storage rooms, stating, "Within Bupyeong Post Office, there are separate male and female janitor break rooms (2nd floor), a facility management team break room (2nd floor), a female staff break room (1st floor), rest areas with tea tables and chairs (3rd floor), and a rooftop garden, providing rest spaces on each floor." Regarding the claim that the disciplinary action makes contract renewal practically impossible, they explained, "The passing score is 80 out of 100, and a 'warning' corresponds to a deduction of only 3 points." In response to the claim that the 30 minutes starting at 9 a.m. is a work standby time and not a break, they pointed out, "Cleaning workers with an 8-hour workday are given one hour of break time to use freely, and the claim of 'work standby time' has no basis."