Following the abolition of the controversial performance-based pay system introduced without proper procedures in the public institutions, the fund raised by the returned incentives of the workers in the public and financial sectors is to be transformed into a non-profit foundation.
A preparatory committee to establish a juristic foundation named 'Public Coexistence and Solidarity Fund' held an initiators' meeting on November 7 at the Sejong Performing Arts Center in central Seoul, unveiling that "The public and financial workers openly refuse to accept the incentives paid during the former president Park Geun-hye administration and propose to utilize the fund raised by the returned incentives as the priming water to strengthen the publicness of the Korean society," and "We are confident that it will be a first step forward for the realization of the value of publicness in our society."
The incentives paid to the employees of the public corporations and quasi-governmental agencies last year imposed by the introduction of the performance-based wage system reached 160 billion won(US$ 144 million). Trade unions in the public sector belong to both national trade union centers of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions(FKTU) and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU) jointly struggled against the introduction of the new wage system and refused to accept the incentives paid to them.
When the newly inaugurated Moon Jae-in administration abrogated the guideline for the performance-based wage system in the public sector in June this year, the labor circle proposed the government to use the returned incentives for the public purpose. After discussions with the government, a foundation is set up to launch. The foundation aims to carry out the activities of △ support of irregular workers to improve their treatment, △ support of job creation and employment for youth, △ scholarship, △ policy development and research, among others. The unfairly paid incentives by the former Park Geun-hye administration seems to have been transformed into a symbol of social solidarity.
The initiators' meeting organized by the preparatory committee deliberated and adopted the agendas on the election of initiators' representative, the constitution, the leadership election, the activity plan and budget. The board of directors will be composed of 15 members; five from labor, four from business and six representing the public interest. Professor Lee Byung-hoon, a public interest member, was elected the chairman of the new foundation. The foundation plans to raise the fund of 100 billion won(US$ 90 million) by this year.
The application for the permit of the establishment of a non-profit foundation will be submitted on November 8 and it is expected that the foundation will officially launch around the end of this month.
reported by Yoon Ja-eun
translated by Kim Sung-jin