[Green Economy News = Reporter Park Seong-jin]
KEPCO KPS, the state-run power plant maintenance company, has seen its direct-hire process fall into uncertainty. Nearly three months after parties reached a direct-hire agreement on Jan. 29, they still have not formed the labor-management-experts committee to discuss implementation, leaving the agreement’s fate unclear.
After a subcontractor’s death at the Taean coal-fired power plant in January, the government formed a Power Industry Employment and Safety Committee. The committee agreed to directly hire KEPCO KPS subcontractors, strengthen job security and improve management of labor costs. It also released a roadmap: form the labor-management-experts committee by March, complete direct hires in the thermal sector by the end of May, and finish direct hires in the nuclear sector by the end of June.
Both sides originally agreed to form the committee immediately after announcing the deal and to move quickly on detailed implementation. They planned to establish the committee in March and proceed with working-level talks thereafter.
But the mood on the ground remains frosty. The parties have failed to narrow differences over who should lead the committee, so they have not even taken the first step. The regular employees’ union has taken a cautious stance, raising concerns about待遇 and equity under direct hiring, while subcontracted workers accuse management of deliberately stalling by citing budget constraints and administrative procedures as excuses.
Critics have sharply blamed the government. They argue that the policy to convert contract workers at public institutions to permanent status—based on a prime ministerial directive—has stalled in practice, and that the government has not stepped in to mediate. KEPCO KPS says the company is, for its part, awaiting the government’s guidelines.
Angered by the delay, labor groups have moved to action. The Taean Coal Plant Nonregular Workers’ Death Countermeasure Committee plans to hold a press conference in front of the Blue House on the 23rd and will press for meetings to demand immediate implementation and the prompt activation of the labor-management-experts committee.
A committee official said, “Despite finalizing an agreement on direct hiring in January, the fact that the committee still has not been formed as the deadline approaches shows a lack of government will. The government must implement the agreement immediately and activate the committee in a responsible manner.”
