Financial workers vote for nationwide strike in S. Korea later this month

Seoul, Sep 2 (IANS) Unionised financial workers on Tuesday voted for a one-day nationwide strike later this month calling for a wage hike and a 4.5-day workweek.

The Korean Financial Industry Union (KFIU) said some 95 per cent of its members voted in favour of the strike scheduled on September 26, reports Yonhap news agency.

The KFIU, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, one of the country's two umbrella unions, covers South Korea's mainstream private and state banks, and other financial institutions. The union also called for an increase in hirings and an extension of the retirement age.

Meanwhile, unionised workers of Samsung Electronics sent a letter to Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday, demanding the company improve the transparency of its bonus system.

In a document sent to the de facto head of Samsung Group, workers demanded the adoption of a more transparent bonus evaluation system and the abolition of the current framework based on economic value added (EVA).

"While SK hynix recently decided to allocate 10 percent of its annual operating profit to its bonus program, Samsung Electronics is still using the EVA method, which lacks transparency," the union said.

A day earlier, SK hynix Inc. and its labor union reached a tentative wage deal under which the company will allocate 10 percent of its annual operating profit to the profit-sharing bonus program, while scrapping the cap that had been limited to 1,000 percent of employees' basic pay.

"Under the current system, bonuses can be zero even when the company posts a large operating profit, and there also is a ceiling," the union said.

"Although it is too late to restore workers' trust, the company should at least show a willingness to change," the union added.

Top market cap Samsung Electronics jumped 2.22 per cent to 69,100 won at market’s close, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix climbed 1.76 per cent to 260,500 won.

--IANS

na/