"Are School Trip Chaperones Off Duty at Night?"... Jeonnam-Gwangju Teachers' Group Calls Education Office Guidelines 'Unfair'

"Would firefighters' night shifts not count if there were no callouts?"
"Instead of protecting teachers' rights, they're trying to cut benefits."

A regional teachers' union has called for the immediate withdrawal of education authorities' overtime guidelines, which exclude from working hours the time teachers accompanying students on school trips spend on overnight standby at their accommodations, calling them "toxic guidelines that undermine teachers' legitimate rights."

On November 12, the Gwangju Special City Teachers' Labor Union issued a statement criticizing the "Scope of Overtime Recognition for Overnight Supervision on School Trips and Other Duties" guidelines that the Gwangju Special City Office of Education recently circulated to schools.

The guidelines set out detailed standards for schools in accordance with revisions to the "Regulations on Allowances for Public Officials and Others." Their key provision is that, rather than recognizing all the time a teacher accompanying students on a school trip spends on overnight standby at an accommodation as overtime, only the time spent responding urgently to an unexpected incident during standby will count as overtime.

The union said, "These are textbook toxic guidelines that, because they were not properly reviewed from a legal standpoint, prevent the purpose and benefits of improving the public-sector overtime system from extending to teachers." It added, "We cannot shake the impression that, instead of protecting teachers' rights and interests, the Office of Education is trying to curtail their benefits."

In particular, the union compared the question of whether standby time constitutes work to firefighters' overnight duty.

The union stressed, "The logic behind these guidelines is no different from saying that firefighters who work overnight at a fire station should not be considered on duty if there are no fire or rescue calls that day." It added, "Even after the daytime schedule ends, teachers accompanying students are required to stay at accommodations designated by the school principal. They cannot sleep at a nearby acquaintance's home or independently arrange different accommodations, and are clearly under the principal's direction and supervision."

It also urged, "The Gwangju Special City Office of Education must not use the excuse that these standards were drawn up by the Ministry of Education and look the other way. It must immediately withdraw and correct the problematic guidelines before an unlawful ruling by the labor office brings further discredit."

The union warned, "If cases arise in which overtime hours are recognized as fewer than those actually worked under these guidelines, we will immediately file a complaint with the labor office and seek full payment of the overtime compensation to which teachers are entitled."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.