No. 152 / Jun 7, 2021
The professor’s union of the School of Medicine at Ajou University was officially established on March 22, upon receiving an independent labor union declaration from the Ministry of Employment and Labor. This is the first union of medical professors ever established in Korea, and following last year’s revision of the Act on Establishment and Operation of Teachers’ Unions, which made it possible for university professors to establish a labor union.
More than 10,000 medical professors treat patients in hospitals. They are simultaneously in charge of both student education and patient care. Despite spending most of their working hours on medical treatment, they were once barred from unionizing simply due to their professorships. Nevertheless, professors at Ajou University Hospital established a medical union in 2018. With the goal of creating a safe medical environment, they filed an administrative lawsuit demanding the establishment of a medical worker’s union. At the time, this was in violation of the Teachers’ Union Law, which prohibits university professors from forming labor unions. The professors lost the matter at trial. The law in question was subsequently revised due to constitutional disagreement, giving professors the freedom to establish labor unions.
Still, medical workers’ unions cannot engage in disputes, as a related law restricts union members’ ability to take collective action. Thus, there are limited measures available to carry out the will of the unions. Indeed, the chairman of the medical labor union noted, “The provision made by the teachers’ union law in consideration of students’ right to study is ridiculously limiting the right to collective action.” The chairman further stated: “We will solve this problem through a constitutional petition. I hope that the establishment of the labor union at Ajou University will serve as a catalyst for the establishment of many medical labor unions.”
By Kim Si-eun, AG Reporter
monica1522@ajou.ac.kr
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