KakaoBank's labour union has begun a work-to-rule campaign refusing night, overtime and holiday work and declining emergency outage response after working hours, raising concerns about service stability. As an internet-only bank that provides financial services mainly via mobile, it will matter how much separate response staff the company has in place if an IT outage occurs at night or on a holiday.

The Kakao branch of the Korea Chemical Fibers Food and Service Workers' Union said on Tuesday that KakaoBank union members began the work-to-rule action from 12 a.m. that day.

Members decided to work within limits that keep average weekly hours from exceeding 40 when monthly working hours are settled. They also decided not to take part in night work, overtime work or holiday work.

The union's policy is, in particular, not to respond after prescribed working hours to work instructions via phone or messenger, emergency outage response outside the scope of the collective agreement, or demands for immediate action. During set working hours, members will normally carry out their existing duties and safety, security and review procedures.

The work-to-rule action does not immediately lead to service disruptions at KakaoBank. Still, if an unexpected IT outage occurs at night or on a holiday, it becomes harder to ask union members for an emergency response in the same way as before, making the company's separate emergency response staff and work system more important.

KakaoBank provides services mainly via mobile without branches, making the stability of its IT system and a swift response to outages key operating factors. If the action drags on, a variable will be whether it can secure sufficient response staff for unexpected situations at night or on holidays rather than routine service operations.

Earlier, the KakaoBank union held a "logout day" strike on July 31 in which members used annual leave and days off to step away from work. More than 700 of about 1,000 union members at KakaoBank participated, but major financial services were not significantly disrupted.

At the time, KakaoBank said staff for core tasks such as operating its IT system and staff under a joint cooperation obligation based on a labour-management collective agreement were working, and that it would minimise customer inconvenience under its business continuity plan.

Still, this work-to-rule action continues work during normal hours while consistently restricting after-hours response, raising the possibility that if the dispute becomes prolonged, stability of the emergency duty system for nights and holidays could emerge as a key issue.

The union said the work-to-rule action should instead be used to review KakaoBank's service operating structure.

Baek Woong (백웅), a staff member of Kakao's union branch, stressed that "KakaoBank must, as the company's responsibility, put in place the manpower and outage response system needed to run a financial company," adding, "It must no longer operate services on the premise of members' dedication and sense of responsibility alone."

Seo Seung-wook (서승욱), head of Kakao's union branch, declared, "This is action to create an environment where members can work sustainably and a stable service operating system," adding, "We will continue lawful industrial action together with members until the company presents responsible dialogue and practical solutions."

A KakaoBank official said, "We are operating the necessary response system so there is no customer inconvenience, and we will continue dialogue with the union for a swift agreement."