EI affiliate the KTU welcomes and supports the decision made by the National Human Rights Commission that salary limitations for 'temporary' teaching positions are an infringement of teachers' rights.
The National Human Rights Commission ruled that the Busan Ministry of Education, which limits temporary teachers' salaries regardless of teaching experience, is failing to abide by Article 11 of the Constitution. It recommended that the ministry revise all regulations regarding discriminatory salary practices. This follows a decision made May 24th, 2003, where the Commission recommended that education ministries revise guidelines which discriminate against temporary teachers in the areas of vacation salaries, legal holidays, and retirement grants. The KTU, which has pressed governments to pay all teachers according to their years of teaching experience, welcomes both decisions, and demands follow-up measures. The National Assembly is currently examining a bill on irregular workers. As of last August, the average monthly salary of an irregular worker was just 62% of a regular worker's salary. It is estimated that nearly 40 percent of all education workers in urban middle and high school are irregular workers. The KTU firmly believe that Governments should make a sincere effort to secure regular education workers and demand that every provincial and city education office revise its regulations in accordance with the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission.