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| KB Kookmin Bank headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times file |
By Yi Whan-woo
The union of KB Kookmin Bank said Thursday that it filed a lawsuit calling for management to pay employees the amount of salary that was cut due to a disputed peak wage system.
Adopted by numerous businesses, the system put a ceiling on wages and gradually cut the annual salaries of senior-level workers several years before retirement after their pay reached what's deemed as the peak.
In May, the Supreme Court ruled that the peak wage system is illegal by discriminating against workers on the basis of age.
The lawsuit by KB Kookmin Bank's union is the first case in the financial industry where workers have taken legal steps to oppose the peak wage system. Employees of other banks are anticipated to follow suit.
"The purpose of the lawsuit is to have management pay the garnished wages to some of our unionists," the union said in a statement, noting that 41 of its members are entitled to receive the money.
It did not specify the total amount.
KB Kookmin Bank adopted the system in 2008 after consulting with the union as part of efforts to free up more money to hire more workers and ease the work burden on existing staff.
"But nothing has been changed concerning the workload while the wages of senior unionists have been reduced," the union said.
It said 40 percent of annual salaries are cut when a worker reaches the age of 56, and an additional 5 percent afterward so that the wage is cut by half when a worker becomes 58.
"We hope the court will come up with a sensible ruling again for our case," the union said.
The management responded, "We will take corresponding measures after going over the arguments of the plaintiffs."
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