Seoul Office of Education 'Cancels' Collective Bargaining Agreement with Seoul KTU

On November 5th the Seoul Office of Education (SMOE) unilaterally announced that it had ‘cancelled’ the Collective Bargaining Agreement it signed in 2004 with the Seoul branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU, JeonGyoJo) and the Seoul KUTE (Korean Union of Teaching and Education Workers, HanGyoJo). This illegal and arbitrary decision indicates very clearly that SMOE does not recognize teachers’ organizations as partners in public education, in direct violation of United Nations agreements to which South Korea is party.

SMOE formally asked the Seoul KTU to revise parts of the Agreement on Oct. 20th, 2008. SMOE stated that “while the Agreement remains in effect, SMOE has trouble in making polices and enforcing them.” The Seoul KTU and KUTE officially requested that a joint conference be held on the background and purpose of the proposed revisions. SMOE responded that “SMOE would not have any consultations about the Agreement.” SMOE then ‘nullified’ the Agreement.

SMOE stated that “we had waited so long to revise the Agreement, but a mutual agreement between the three teachers’ unions wasn’t made. So we couldn’t wait for a mutual agreement any longer. That’s why we nullified the 2004 Agreement.” The third union to which SMOE refers here is the Korean Liberal Teachers Union, JayuGyoJo, founded by a group of politically conservative teachers after 2004. JayuGyoJo was not involved in the negotiation of the CBA and so should not be considered a concerned party.

The Seoul KTU has approximately 12,000 members, while the Seoul KUTE and JayuGyoJo have some 400 to 500 members each. The KTU has proposed that the number of negotiators chosen to represent the three unions in collective bargaining should be proportional to the number of members of each. JayuGyoJo, which is openly hostile toward the KTU, has demanded that the number be the same for each union. SMOE has used this disagreement to avoid collective bargaining.

SMOE superintendent Kong Jeong-taek has publicly expressed hostility toward the KTU. The nullification of the Agreement should be seen in the context of his position on the role of teacher organizations and his contempt for collaboration and social dialogue. His policy has focused on competition, and on the implementation of nationwide standardized tests from primary through secondary levels to facilitate this competition. The KTU remains opposed to this policy.

2008.11.12
Hwang Hyun-su

Read Education International's 2007 letter of protest to the South Korean government here

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