Woori Bank has restructured its wage system in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling that included regular bonuses in the ordinary wage for the first time in the financial sector. Ordinary wages refer to the salary used as a basis for calculating holiday and overtime pay. An increase in ordinary wages also raises the actual monthly salary received by workers. As other commercial banks are in consultations regarding related matters, salaries for bank employees with an average annual salary of 120 million won are expected to rise further.
According to the financial sector on the 12th, Woori Bank's labor and management agreed to expand the scope of ordinary wages during the second quarter labor-management council. As a result, regular bonuses such as holiday bonuses, anniversary and Labor Day congratulatory payments, and performance bonuses (with a minimum payment rate applied) will now be included in ordinary wages. A representative from the Woori Bank union noted, "The increase in ordinary wages will have the effect of increasing annual leave and overtime pay."
This is a follow-up action to the Supreme Court's ruling from December last year that expanded the scope of ordinary wages. Ordinary wages refer to the salary that workers receive 'regularly' and 'uniformly' as compensation for their labor. Until now, this included 'fixedness', meaning situations where the amount and timing of payment were predetermined; however, the core of the ruling excluded these criteria. Regular bonuses that are 'conditional on the employee's tenure or working days' are also recognized as part of ordinary wages, alongside performance bonuses. The Supreme Court stated that 'the minimum payment, regardless of work performance, corresponds to the remuneration for specified labor.' For example, if the minimum payment rate for performance bonuses is 30% of the basic salary, this portion would be considered ordinary wages.
As the scope of ordinary wages expands, the monthly salaries of Woori Bank employees are expected to increase. A representative from the Woori Bank union mentioned, "Since working hours, annual leave, and income for different ranks vary, a uniform calculation is difficult, but we believe there will be an effect of compensating around 150,000 to 200,000 won on average for employees at the assistant manager level." This translates to an increase of 1.8 million to 2.4 million won on an annual basis.
From the bank's perspective, the burden of rising labor costs has increased. As of the end of last year, Woori Bank had 14,308 employees, and if we simply assume that each will receive an additional 2.4 million won per year, labor costs will increase by approximately 30 billion won. Considering that employees at the assistant manager level and above constitute a higher percentage of the bank's workforce, it is likely that the actual labor costs will rise even more.
A representative from the financial union stated, "Since the ordinary wage payment rate was set through labor-management agreement, the scope is not vast," noting that, aside from the Industrial Bank of Korea, which had fixedness issues, the financial burden on management regarding wage increases is not expected to be significant. The Supreme Court overturned a second trial decision that ruled in favor of the company in a lawsuit by the Industrial Bank of Korea union and 11,202 retirees who demanded to include '600% regular bonuses in ordinary wages'. The amount the Industrial Bank of Korea must pay to retirees and others amounts to 77.5 billion won.