Chungnam Teachers' Union Claims Discrimination Against Teachers in Cheonan Education Support Office's Shared Accommodation

Only 9 Out of 30 Positions Assigned to Teachers

The Chungnam Teachers' Union has called for improvements to the shared accommodation for public officials managed by the Cheonan Office of Education.

According to the union on the 18th, the Cheonan Office of Education has been operating 30 units of shared accommodation for public officials since this year to support stable housing for less-experienced public officials with less than two years of service who commute long distances.

Of the 30 units, 9 are allocated to teachers and 21 to local public officials. While the units for teachers are used by those with less than two years of experience, only 6 units for local public officials are occupied by less-experienced staff. Notably, 4 units have been preferentially assigned to department heads with over 25 years of experience.

In a statement, the union said, "The shared accommodation management regulations specify a priority principle for department heads, so if another department head wishes to move in, less-experienced public officials must vacate. We have requested improvements to the shared accommodation regulations, which are being operated contrary to their original purpose, but the Cheonan Office of Education has unilaterally notified us that discussions cannot proceed due to uncertainty in future projects caused by insufficient tax revenue."

The union further pointed out, "Although teachers account for 87% and local public officials for 13% of education officials in Cheonan, only 9 units are allocated to teachers. This inevitably leads to criticism that the Cheonan Office of Education is discriminating against teachers."

The union demanded, "In the case of the Asan Office of Education, shared accommodation regulations were established by gathering opinions from staff organizations, and the units are operated according to the demand ratio of less-experienced public officials. We urge the Cheonan Office of Education to also adjust the shared accommodation regulations in a reasonable direction."