KT Union Tentatively Approves Labor-Management Agreement Including Work Reassignment Plan with 59.7% Support
Recognizes Need for Digital Transformation but Voices Concerns Over Wage Cuts and Established Unions
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] For the purpose of ‘digital transformation,’ KT labor and management have agreed on wage and collective bargaining that includes the reassignment of work for about 3,000 employees. However, employee dissatisfaction has not subsided, and internal friction is expected to continue for the time being.
According to the KT labor union on the 10th, the union conducted a vote among its members on the ‘tentative labor-management agreement on work reassignment’ and wage and collective bargaining, resulting in approval with 59.7% in favor. This is the lowest approval rate in history compared to 89% in 2019 and 93% in 2020. It is also the highest opposition rate (39.2%) in KT’s wage and collective bargaining history.
Accordingly, within this year, SMB sales (face-to-face sales for small and medium-sized businesses and small merchants) and C&R operations (customer consultation management) personnel, and next year, general national office IP access, regional transmission, and power personnel excluding essential personnel will be reassigned to new fields. The target group is about 3,000 people, accounting for about 13% of KT’s total employees. Due to recent rapid market changes, the need for digital transformation has increased, and KT’s work reassignment is interpreted as inevitable.
Along with this, the payment of a one-time bonus of 5 million won and the introduction of a special on-site promotion system have also received positive responses from employees. However, the agreed wage increase rate is only about 1% on average, and the agreement also includes cuts in overtime pay of 1 to 2 million won per person, a 0.5 percentage point downward adjustment in the average overall personnel evaluation increase rate, disadvantages due to changes in overtime pay standards, and the introduction of a performance distribution system.
Some employees find the voting results difficult to accept. In particular, dissatisfaction with the established union that led this agreement is rising mainly among the ‘MZ generation (born between the 1980s and 2000s),’ who prioritize practical benefits. On anonymous workplace communities such as Blind, posts are flooding in saying, "The union, which should actively represent employees’ interests, is leading wage cuts and restructuring," and "The union does not guarantee union members’ voting rights by splitting polling stations."
The historically low approval rate is also seen as supporting such dissatisfaction. When adding the opposition votes (5,162 people) and union members who did not exercise their voting rights (3,986 people), the number far exceeds the approval votes (7,652 people). A KT employee said, "There are various talks such as demands for a re-vote, impeachment of the union chairman, and establishment of a new union. Everyone is in a state of great disappointment," conveying the atmosphere.
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