Job action halts loans at Citibank

Most branches of Citibank Korea Inc. stopped offering household loans yesterday as union members from the former KorAm Bank, which Citibank acquired last November, carried out their threat to take such action to protest management policies on promotions and salaries.
Among Citibank’s 252 branches nationwide, 237 branches that previously operated under KorAm Bank posted messages that informed customers of the halted service. The union did not specify how long the partial strike would last.
The union members are also planning to vacate the branches during the lunch hour from noon to 1 p.m., beginning today, a move that is likely to disrupt the bank’s operations since temporary workers can only handle basic operations such as deposits and withdrawals.
This is the latest move in the labor-management disputes that have marred the acquisition of KorAm Bank, the nation’s seventh largest, by the Korean unit of the world’s largest financial institution.
The KorAm Bank union and Citibank management have clashed over virtually every issue, resulting in a number of strikes and lawsuits. The union has demanded that management treat Citibank employees and former KorAm Bank workers equally and offer equal severance payments, which it claims management has refused to do. Union leaders have also urged management to place more former KorAm executives in high-ranking positions, which Citibank has shown little interest in doing.
In July, the disgruntled union filed lawsuits against Citibank and its consumer banking chief, saying the bank overcharged its floating rate mortgage customers more than 7.4 billion won ($7 million) by imposing higher flat interest rates instead. Union members also refused to work overtime and even reported Citibank President Ha Yung-ku to the Labor Ministry earlier this month, saying the bank did not keep its promise of converting 5 percent of contract workers to regular worker status by July.

by Kim Chang-gyu, Jung Ha-won