Fire Commissioner Shin Yeol-woo Holds First Meeting with National Fire Safety Officials Union and Others

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The National Fire Agency announced on the 28th that it held a meeting at the Government Sejong 2 Complex to establish a cooperative and productive labor-management relationship with the chairpersons of the Firefighters' Labor Union.

This meeting was organized to celebrate the simultaneous launch of the labor union following the amendment of the Public Officials Labor Union Act, which allowed firefighters to establish labor unions starting from the 6th, and to open a forum for labor-management consultation.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the number of attendees was minimized. Participants included Shin Yeol-woo, Commissioner of the National Fire Agency, Hong Soon-tak, Chairperson of the National Fire Safety Officials Labor Union, Jeong Eun-ae, Chairperson of the National Public Officials Labor Union Fire Agency Branch, and Park Il-kwon, Chairperson of the Fire-Loving Public Officials Labor Union.

The Commissioner and union chairpersons exchanged views on improving working conditions for firefighters and advancing fire services, pledging to develop a cooperative labor-management relationship in the firefighting sector.

Commissioner Shin Yeol-woo said, "You can go far only if you go together. You may go fast alone, but it is not easy to complete the journey," adding, "To realize public safety, we must go together."

Meanwhile, the Firefighters' Labor Union is open to any firefighter who is not a supervisor, overall work manager, personnel or salary officer, or labor affairs officer. As of the end of June, out of approximately 64,000 firefighters, about 16,400 are union members. Unlike general labor unions, the Firefighters' Labor Union does not have the right to take collective action but can exercise the rights to unionize and collective bargaining.