Banks and general insurance companies have a higher proportion of non-regular workers than other financial industries. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Apr. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government has uncovered widespread discriminatory practices against temporary and part-time employees at major financial institutions, including banks, credit card companies, and credit bureaus.
In a labor inspection spanning 35 firms during the first quarter, the Ministry of Employment and Labor found a total of 185 violations pertaining to unfair treatment of non-regular workers and infringement of childcare support policies, the ministry announced on Tuesday.
Under current laws governing temporary staffing and employment terms, companies are prohibited from offering less favorable wages, bonuses, benefits or working conditions to non-regular employees performing similar roles compared to their directly hired counterparts.
However, the inspections revealed numerous instances where temporary, part-time and dispatched workers faced disadvantageous treatment solely due to their employment status, despite handling identical job duties as regular staff.
At one savings bank, temporary workers were excluded from tuition assistance, medical expense coverage and preferential internal loan programs. Another bank denied dispatched secretarial staff access to annual prepaid debit cards worth 500,000 won and holiday cash bonuses of 250,000 won that directly hired secretaries received.
Discriminatory cases included a credit card firm paying temporary workers a monthly meal allowance of 250,000 won versus 310,000 won for permanent staff in similar roles. A credit bureau provided health screening benefits only to its directly hired IT maintenance personnel.
In addition to unequal compensation and benefits, the ministry identified 50 cases across 25 companies involving the outright non-payment of wages, training period pay below minimum wage levels, and the denial of overtime, holiday and night shift allowances to certain employee categories like executive drivers.
Violations extended to the realm of workplace harassment, with one company executive admitting to kissing a female subordinate on the top of her head during an office dinner party while citing an “American mindset.” The same manager was reported to have hugged female employees one by one.
Instances of pregnant workers being compelled to work overtime and male employees receiving fewer days than legally mandated for paternity leave after the birth of a child were also flagged during the inspections.
The ministry stated it had issued corrective orders for the violations uncovered and demanded disciplinary action against perpetrators of sexual harassment, coupled with organizational culture reforms at the offending workplaces.
“We will strive to foster a fair labor market where workers across diverse employment arrangements receive proper compensation and can freely utilize childcare support policies without fear,” Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik said, vowing stringent enforcement.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
