The Korean Financial Industry Union and the Financial Industry Employers' Association reached a tentative agreement in industry-wide bargaining to cut bank branch operating hours by 30 minutes and raise total wages by 3 percent.

The financial sector said on Sept. 28 that labour and management produced a tentative agreement after about 5 months at their industry-wide central talks earlier in the day.

Under the agreement, bank branches will open at 9:30 a.m. from April next year, later than the current 9 a.m. Closing time will remain 4 p.m.

The sides agreed to raise total wages by 3.0 percent. The employer side will separately bear the funds needed for new hiring of young people and other purposes.

They will introduce a voluntary flexible start-time system to support work-life balance. Staff can start later by up to 1 hour a week, and up to 30 minutes a day.

They will also introduce a customer business cut-off system called "Last Call" to help settle a 1-hour early leave scheme on Fridays introduced last year. Unused early leave time can be converted into compensatory leave, up to 2 days a year.

The age limit for children eligible under childcare leave will be expanded through the sixth grade of elementary school. The period for applying a work-hour adjustment system for employees with lower-grade elementary school children will also be extended.

The union plans to hold a meeting of representatives from each bank's branch on Sept. 29 to share detailed terms of the agreement.