Demands for Improving Working Conditions of Part-Time Contracted Public Officials

Time-Selective Union Demands Establishment of Working Hours Consultation Rights for Time-Selective Hired Officials and New Provisions in the Government Official Appointment Decree from the Ministry of Personnel Management

(From left) Jeong Seong-hye, Chairperson; Kim Hwang-gu, Secretary General; Kim Kyung-soo, Officer; Jang Woo-hyun, Secretary

The National Time-Selective Public Officials Labor Union (Chairperson Jeong Seong-hye) demanded improvements to the working conditions of time-selective recruited public officials at the Ministry of Personnel Management's Personnel Innovation Planning Division at 11 a.m. on the 12th.

The Time-Selective Union pointed out that Article 3-3, Paragraph 2 of the current Public Officials Appointment Decree stipulates that "the weekly working hours of time-selective recruited public officials shall be determined by the appointing authority or the recommending authority within the range of 15 to 35 hours, notwithstanding Article 9 of the National Public Officials Service Regulations." Since there is no mechanism for consultation between time-selective recruited public officials and the appointing authority, cases of system abuse have increased, such as reducing working hours from 35 hours per week to 20 hours on the day before starting parental leave or on the day of submitting a sick leave application. They pointed out that the lack of consultation rights on working hours under the Public Officials Appointment Decree is causing current problems and requested the Ministry of Personnel Management to establish a provision allowing consultation between time-selective recruited public officials and the appointing authority.

Regarding the right to consult on working hours, on April 27, 2023, Representative Lee Hae-sik (Democratic Party, Seoul Gangdong-gu Eul), a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, proposed an amendment to Article 26 of the National Public Officials Act to newly establish that "when the head of a national institution designates the working hours of a public official pursuant to Paragraph 1, they must consult with the relevant public official about the working hours." This proposal is currently pending in a subcommittee.

Additionally, they demanded ▲distribution of a time-selective manual including on-site abuse cases ▲integrated operation of promotion lists for time-selective recruited public officials ▲assignment for at least three months when changing working hours ▲and changing the standard working hours for time-selective recruited public officials to 35 hours.

Kim Hwang-woo, Secretary General of the Time-Selective Union, said, "Even when the Public Officials Appointment Decree was announced for legislation to change the working hours of time-selective recruited public officials to a maximum of 35 hours per week, cases of abuse were anticipated due to the lack of consultation rights." He added, "Various methods have been used to raise the issue regarding consultation rights. These include the 2017 National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee audit, submission of 1,400 opinion letters during the 2019 legislative notice of the Public Officials Appointment Decree, submission of over 1,100 public proposals for establishing consultation rights in 2021, delivery of 1,500 opinion letters on October 12, 2022, requesting the establishment of consultation rights in the amendment to the National Public Officials Act, one-person relay protests and press conferences in front of the Ministry of Personnel Management, continuously demanding the establishment of consultation rights. Now is the time for the Ministry of Personnel Management to make a decision," he emphasized.

On this day, the Time-Selective Union was represented by Chairperson Jeong Seong-hye and Secretary General Kim Hwang-woo, while the Ministry of Personnel Management's Personnel Innovation Planning Division was represented by Secretary Jang Woo-hyun and Officer Kim Kyung-soo.