Hankyungyeon "Allowing Union Membership for Fired and Unemployed Workers, Labor Union Act Amendment Should Be Careful"

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] The Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) argued that the proposed amendment to the Labor Union Act, which allows dismissed workers and the unemployed to join labor unions, could have a negative impact on the Korean economy and corporate management activities.

KERI announced on the 10th that it submitted its opinion on the "Draft Legislation of the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act" to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 8th.

On the 28th of last month, the Ministry of Employment and Labor issued a legislative notice for three bills related to the ratification of the International Labour Organization (ILO) fundamental conventions: the amendment to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (Labor Union Act), the amendment to the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Public Officials' Labor Unions (Public Officials' Union Act), and the amendment to the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Teachers' Labor Unions (Teachers' Union Act).

KERI expressed concern that if the Labor Union Act is amended to allow dismissed workers and the unemployed to join unions in South Korea, where labor-management cooperation ranks among the lowest worldwide, confrontational labor-management relations will further deteriorate.

Since dismissed workers and the unemployed are not subject to the employer's personnel authority, they are more likely to engage in more radical and extreme union activities than existing union members, inevitably worsening labor-management relations.

Additionally, KERI pointed out a problem with the draft legislation allowing non-union members to be appointed as union executives when union bylaws are amended, whereas under the current Labor Union Act, union executives must be elected from among union members.

There is concern that if non-union members are appointed as executives of higher-level unions with significant social influence, they may focus on projects aimed at strengthening political status, potentially causing social unrest.

KERI also criticized the allowance of wage payments to full-time union officials. The prohibition on wage payments to full-time union officials has been in place since 2009 to prevent the negative effects of an excessive number of full-time union officials. Allowing wage payments to these officials, KERI argued, undermines union autonomy and morality and is a step backward for the advancement of labor-management relations.

They also viewed the prohibition of discriminatory treatment during multiple union and individual bargaining as potentially worsening labor-management relations. Despite increased negotiation costs, employers pursue negotiations with each union separately because the working areas and job characteristics of individual unions differ significantly. If newly established unions use the prohibition of discriminatory treatment as a basis for making excessive demands competitively or delaying negotiations, deterioration of labor-management relations in companies is inevitable.

KERI argued that to reform labor-management relations, all strike activities within workplaces should be completely banned. The draft legislation only prohibits strike activities in facilities related to major production tasks, similar to current regulations, which is interpreted as allowing strike activities in other workplace locations.

KERI insisted that to prevent illegal acts such as assault and facility destruction caused by unnecessary labor-management contact, strike activities should be entirely prohibited within workplaces, as is the case in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France.

In addition to opinions on the issues of the draft legislation, KERI proposed measures to restore balance in labor-management relations. First, it recommended allowing replacement labor as a countermeasure for employers during strike activities, as practiced in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, and France.

This recommendation reflects the reality that companies have no means to counter strikes and are forced to comply with unfair union demands. Furthermore, although there are remedial procedures through labor commissions for unfair labor practices by employers, unlike advanced countries, imposing criminal penalties is excessive; thus, KERI called for the abolition of criminal punishment provisions for unfair labor practices.

KERI also demanded stronger penalties for illegal collective agreements such as employment succession and improvements in voting procedures for strike actions.

Choo Kwang-ho, Director of Economic Policy at KERI, explained, "The draft legislation contains toxic provisions that could make the domestic labor market even more rigid, such as allowing dismissed workers and the unemployed to join unions. If the bill is proposed and amended as per the draft, it will cause significant adverse effects not only on overcoming the current economic crisis but also on reshoring efforts. Therefore, we submitted our opinion to suggest a rational direction for revising the Labor Union Act."

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