SEOUL, January 17 (AJP) - The labor union of KB Kookmin Bank has overwhelmingly voted to strike, with 96 percent of its 9,274 members approving the decision.
If it proceeds, this would mark the first walkout at the bank in six years, as workers press for performance bonuses of about 20 million won, or roughly $15,000, per employee.
The union’s demands come despite KB Kookmin Bank employees earning the highest average salary among South Korea’s top five banks, at 118.21 million won ($89,000) annually, according to the Korea Federation of Banks.
The bank's management has resisted the union’s demands, citing financial pressures. Executives point to an estimated 840 billion won in costs stemming from compensation related to losses in Hong Kong H-index equity-linked securities sales, which totaled 8.19 trillion won.
The KB union's push for bonuses follows a year of robust profits for South Korea’s financial institutions. The country’s banks have continued to benefit from a widening gap between deposit and loan interest rates.
Labor tensions have been brewing across the banking sector. Last month, workers at the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea staged a strike, seeking pay increases to align with commercial banks, where average salaries are significantly higher than IBK.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.