By Kim Jae-won
In opposition of the introduction of a performance-based pay system the union of SC First Bank has been on strike since Monday.
On the other end of the tightrope, the management is adamant about pushing the plan through.
The unionists have put their jobs at stake, while the management views the new pay format as the only way to stimulate its bottom line.
The clash of interest, however, leaves another very important party in this whole affair in a lurch ― SC’s customers as they must endure one inconvenience after another.
About 3,000 unionized workers, over 90 percent of the unionists or half of its employees, gathered at a resort in Sokcho, Gangwon Province. They have been refusing to work.
For the unionists, who are exercising their constitutionally-guaranteed right, the question is whether the new payment system is important enough to force customers to take part in the fight by denying them its services.
Obviously, the union believes that the new pay format will be used to rationalize the workforce, and single out workers who defy management. The management has repeatedly promised not to use the new pay format for such purposes.
Obviously the union does not trust the management.
Some managers suspect that the union is responsible for spreading a rumor that the lender plans to sell its retail banking unit. The management repeatedly squashed such rumors.
By prolonging the strike, both sides are set to deepen their animosity toward each other.
It is time that the two sides restart dialogue.
This will not likely lead to an immediate solution but is the key to strengthening mutual trust, the starting point in an effort to resolve this serious dispute.
The bank’s management said Friday that it would set up a performance management task force at the request of the labor union.
It added that its modified proposals include no forced labor restructuring and a 5-percent increase in the average base pay of union members.
Now, the ball is in the union’s court. It is time for the union to hit it back and enable the match to continue, in this case, to return the bank’s operations back to normal.