The wage negotiations between school non-regular workers, including cafeteria cooks and after-school care teachers, and the education authorities for the year 2025 have finally concluded. This outcome, reached on the morning of December 8 after intensive negotiations held from December 4 to 8, means that there will be no strikes regarding caregiving and meal services as the new semester begins. The Korea Non-Regular Workers Alliance announced this decision, reflecting years of efforts for better working conditions.

This agreement follows previous protests by the workers, including relay strikes across various regions in November and December of the previous year, which had not reached any resolutions until just before the new school term. The major elements of the agreement include a percentage-based holiday bonus payment, an increase in the base salary by 78,500 won, and a raise in the overtime increment by 1,000 won monthly. The contentious holiday bonuses, which had previously created significant wage disparities with regular staff, are now adjusted to ensure non-regular workers receive 100% based on their relatively lower base salaries.

Despite the positive strides taken in this agreement, there remains an acknowledgment from the workers' alliance that the newly introduced holiday bonus system has its shortcomings. They argue that the so-called 'regularization' of the bonus system does not fully address discrepancies, as workers categorized under higher salary brackets still receive bonuses based on the lower classifications. Additionally, plans to establish a task force to revisit wage structure revisions are included in the agreement, signaling potential ongoing discussions to rectify disparities in workers' compensation moving forward.