The North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education in Andong. [North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education]
The North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education in Andong. [North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education]

The North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education is pursuing wage negotiations and institutional reforms in tandem to improve working conditions and welfare for its school public service workers.

The office said Thursday it is actively participating in the 2026 school public service workers' wage negotiations, conducted jointly with education offices across the country, while also working to overhaul its group insurance system and revise related administrative regulations to deliver tangible improvements for workers on the ground.

The negotiations involve the Ministry of Education, provincial and municipal education offices nationwide, and the National School Non-Regular Workers' Solidarity Council, and were convened to discuss key matters concerning wages and working conditions for school public service workers.

Talks have been under way since an opening ceremony in September, with working-level and full sessions alternating. This week, negotiations include an extended second plenary session and the third and fourth working-level sessions on consecutive days, signaling that discussions on major sticking points are entering full swing.

Throughout the process, the North Gyeongsang office said it is focused on comprehensively weighing conditions at schools and the working circumstances of public service staff, and on reaching a rational wage framework through open communication and consultation between labor and management.

The office aims to build stable labor-management relations and establish a culture of consultation grounded in mutual trust.

Alongside the wage talks, the office is also pushing to reform its tailored welfare group insurance system to enhance staff benefits.

It plans to consolidate individual contracts currently held by separate institutions into a single unified contract, improving the efficiency of insurance administration and allowing personnel changes — such as new hires and transfers — to be reflected quickly and systematically.

The office expects the move to streamline insurance management and reduce the administrative burden on staff.

It is also working to tighten labor management standards, including merging the separate regulations governing general school public service workers and those in specialized operational roles into a single set of rules.

In particular, the office plans to incorporate key provisions from the third-term collective agreement signed this year into the relevant regulations, updating standards on leave and attendance, and improving the management framework to ensure consistent application across schools and educational institutions.

By pursuing better working conditions through wage negotiations alongside welfare and administrative reforms, the office said it intends to make a meaningful difference in the day-to-day working environment for school public service workers and support the stable operation of educational institutions.

"Through sufficient communication and consultation between labor and management in the wage negotiations, we will seek a rational point of agreement, and we will continue to push for tangible improvements in treatment — including reforms to tailored welfare and management systems," North Gyeongsang Superintendent of Education Im Jong-sik said.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com