Culture ministry and union launch council to improve pay for school arts instructors and sports coaches

The culture ministry and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions launched a joint labor-government council on Tuesday to improve the treatment of school arts instructors and everyday sports coaches, the ministry said.

The council opened with a commemorative meeting at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, attended by about 20 people including Vice Minister Kim Young-soo and KCTU Vice Chairman Lee Yang-soo, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The two sides set up the body after the revised Trade Union Act took effect on March 10, with the aim of making real improvements to the working conditions of instructors who teach arts in schools and coaches who run community sports programs.

"Children's cultivation of artistic sensibility and the public's enjoyment of a healthy daily life are thanks to the instructors and coaches who have devoted themselves quietly in education and sports settings," Kim said. "We will listen attentively to voices from the field and continue to communicate and cooperate with the labor community so that workers' treatment can be improved in substantive terms."

The council's initial agenda covers better pay and working conditions for school arts instructors, a more reasonable compensation system for everyday sports coaches, and securing budget to support staff in arts education and sports.

The ministry said it plans to use the council as an official channel for communication between the government and the labor community, working to draw up effective measures to improve working conditions step by step on the basis of mutual trust.