In June, members of the National Health Insurance Customer Center Branch of the Public Transport Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held a street march in Mapo-daero, Seoul, from Gongdeok toward Chungjeongno, carrying hand placards urging the direct employment of non-regular workers in the public sector. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Approximately 1,600 customer service representatives at the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) Customer Center will be converted to regular employees. The issue of directly employing the counselors, which had continued for about eight months, was resolved through the ‘affiliated institution regular employee conversion’ method, an intermediate step between the commonly used subsidiary regular employee conversion and direct employment by the main organization.
According to NHIS on the 21st, at the 'Private Consignment Office Discussion Council' held that day, it was decided to convert the current outsourced regular employee customer center counselors to regular employees by establishing a separate affiliated institution within the NHIS (direct operation method). The NHIS stated that it intends to respect this decision.
The Office Discussion Council has included labor and management of NHIS, the NHIS Customer Center branch of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (KPTU), affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which has advocated for direct employment of NHIS regular employees, as well as external experts, continuing discussions related to improving the treatment of customer center employees.
Since February, NHIS Customer Center employees have repeatedly gone on strike demanding direct employment as regular employees by NHIS. During the June strike, NHIS Chairman Kim Yong-ik undertook a hunger strike to mediate the conflict, and in July, large-scale protests involving other KCTU union members were held near the NHIS headquarters in Wonju, Gangwon Province, among other significant events.
At the "Health Insurance Customer Center Direct Employment Urging, Blue House Walking Rally Press Conference" held last August in front of Cheongunhyoja Community Service Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Lee Eun-young, acting officer of the National Health Insurance Customer Center Branch of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, is speaking. [Photo by Yonhap News]
The affiliated institution conversion method adopted this time is quite different from the subsidiary establishment method, which many institutions have chosen since the Moon Jae-in administration declared the ‘regularization of non-regular workers in the public sector’ in 2017. An affiliated institution is a corporation like NHIS, where the organizational structure, budget, and major business plans are controlled by the NHIS board of directors, but internal operations such as personnel and recruitment are independently managed under the responsibility of the affiliated institution head.
Wages and collective agreements will be directly negotiated between the customer center branch and NHIS. Wages will be budgeted separately by the affiliated institution, independent of NHIS’s total labor cost, and wage levels will be set considering the call center industry standards. Also, if an affiliated institution employee wants to transfer to NHIS, they must resign and undergo a separate recruitment process. Currently, NHIS operates two affiliated institutions: Ilsan Hospital and Seoul Nursing Home. This can be seen as a middle ground between the direct employment demanded by the customer center branch and the existing subsidiary regular employee conversion method.
Chairman Kim explained at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee’s audit the day before, “If 1,600 employees are converted to affiliated institutions, they will be accepted through a certain recruitment process within the current outsourcing budget range,” adding, “We expect to ensure employment stability without additional personnel increases or budget expansions.”
Going forward, NHIS plans to promptly report these discussion results to the 'Ministry of Employment and Labor Non-Regular Worker Task Force' and, after confirmation, proceed with follow-up procedures such as forming a 'Labor-Management and Expert Council (Labor-Management Expert Council)' to discuss detailed recruitment conversion methods and wage systems.
Professor Lee Byung-hoon of Chung-Ang University’s Department of Sociology, who chaired the Office Discussion Council, said, “There were great difficulties in the consultation process due to significant differences in opinions and deep conflicts among stakeholders, and as chairman, I felt a heavy burden because of concerns about social issues, but I am pleased and gratified that a conclusion was reached through repeated efforts and opinion coordination by the committee members.” He added, “I hope this decision will establish a sustainable customer center operation model and become a model case for public institutions that repay the public with better service by improving consultation quality.”
Chairman Kim also said, “Within the NHIS, we need to heal the conflicts and wounds caused during the customer center union’s strike process,” and “The upcoming 'Labor-Management Expert Council' should specify fair recruitment procedures such as examinations and other necessary matters.” He added, “We will continue to actively strive to improve the treatment of counselors.”
However, it remains uncertain whether the labor-labor conflicts that previously surfaced will completely subside through this. The Fairness Value Solidarity, a group of MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) employees within NHIS, is strongly opposing this, citing ‘violation of fairness.’
Following reports that the establishment of an affiliated institution is likely to resolve the situation, a post titled ‘Opposition to Direct Employment of Call Center and Establishment of Affiliated Institution’ was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board, claiming that “Direct employment and affiliated institution establishment of NHIS Customer Center violate social fairness.” The petitioner emphasized, “I believe improvements are necessary regarding the poor working conditions and treatment claimed by the NHIS Customer Center,” but also stressed, “If a large number of people become public institution regular employees indiscriminately once again, many citizens will be angered and hurt.”
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