Today’s School Irregular Workers' General Strike... 220 Seoul Schools 'Meal Service Suspended'

Increased Number of Strike Participants Compared to Last Year
Provision of Substitute Meals or Bringing Lunch Boxes

More than 1,600 non-regular school workers participated in a general strike on the 6th, and it was reported that about 200 schools in Seoul either provided alternative meals or did not serve meals at all. Classes such as elementary after-school care, special schools, and kindergarten after-school programs were mostly operating normally.

According to the "2024 Education Public Employees Union General Strike Situation Report" distributed by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the same day, as of the previous day, 1,610 education public employees were on strike, accounting for 6.7% of the total 24,174 employees. The number of strike participants increased by 24% (312 people) compared to the strike in March last year.

As non-regular school workers responsible for meal service and after-school care participated in the strike, some disruptions occurred in meal operations. Among 1,397 elementary, middle, and high schools in Seoul, 220 schools (15.7%) were unable to operate school meals normally. Of these, 200 schools provided alternative meals such as bread and beverages, and 4 schools required students to bring their own lunch boxes. It was confirmed that 16 schools did not serve meals due to regular exams and academic schedule adjustments.

As school irregular workers went on a general strike demanding the elimination of wage discrimination with regular workers, students at a middle school in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on the 25th had lunch with alternative meals such as sandwiches and muffins instead of school meals. Photo by Joint Press Corps

All 565 schools operating elementary after-school care and 11 special schools were reported to be operating normally. Among 293 kindergartens running after-school programs, 2 schools experienced operational difficulties.

Earlier, the National School Non-Regular Workers' Union, the National Education Public Employees Headquarters, and the National Women's Union, collectively known as the National School Non-Regular Workers Solidarity Conference (Solidarity Conference), announced that non-regular school workers would go on a general strike on this day. Since July, they have been conducting collective wage negotiations with the Ministry of Education and 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education, demanding improved working conditions, but no agreement was reached.