Health and Medical Union Withdraws General Strike... "Continued Efforts to Implement 9/2 Government-Union Agreement"

Working-Level Talks Between Ministry and Union
Promise of "Cooperation on Strengthening Public Healthcare"

The National Health and Medical Industry Labor Union has withdrawn its plan for a general strike, which had been scheduled for July 24, after working-level discussions with the government.

Members of the National Health and Medical Industry Labor Union are shouting slogans at the general strike resolution rally held around Sungnyemun in Seoul on the 2nd of this month. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the labor union on July 21, the two sides have held working-level talks since July 17 on major healthcare issues such as strengthening public healthcare and expanding the medical workforce. Based on the outcomes of these discussions, the union convened an emergency delegates' meeting and decided to withdraw the industry-wide general strike, choosing instead to focus on reaching agreements on wage and collective bargaining at individual workplaces.

Previously, the union had filed for dispute mediation simultaneously at 127 medical institutions nationwide that had failed to reach a wage and collective bargaining agreement this year. In the strike authorization vote at each workplace, 92.1% voted in favor, effectively approving the general strike.

Through the latest working-level talks, the ministry and the union confirmed that the '9·2 Government-Union Agreement' aligns with the policy direction of the current administration. They also agreed to continue discussions to implement outstanding issues, such as establishing and institutionalizing workforce standards for each job category.

The 9·2 Government-Union Agreement refers to the agreement reached in September 2021 between the government and the union on building an infectious disease response system, expanding public healthcare infrastructure, and improving the treatment of healthcare workers. The union has demanded the restoration of the implementation system, claiming that the agreement was suspended under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

In addition, the government and the union agreed to continue discussions to strengthen public healthcare and address issues in the medical field. They also plan to establish a new model for government-union dialogue based on the spirit of the 9·2 Agreement and expand union participation in major policy decision-making governance in the healthcare sector.

Both sides stated that they would make joint efforts not only to resolve conflicts between the government and medical associations, normalize medical services as soon as possible, and promote proper healthcare reform, but also to address issues such as wage arrears at public hospitals and problems arising from the Supreme Court's ruling on ordinary wages.