Ultimately, the Tripartite Agreement Kicked Aside... Minnocho, the Social Dialogue They Themselves Proposed, Turned Their Backs On It

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Following the final collapse of the tripartite agreement involving the two major labor unions, which was pursued for the first time in 22 years, it has become difficult to initiate social dialogue for the time being. The government is only "closely monitoring the situation" and has not issued any significant statements. The failure of the tripartite agreement may trigger a chain reaction, including the total resignation of the Democratic Labor Union (Minju Nochong) leadership, a shift toward confrontational activities, and a weakening presence in the social dialogue framework.

◆Why did the tripartite agreement fail again after the IMF crisis? = Kim Myung-hwan, chairman of Minju Nochong, is scheduled to hold a press conference on the afternoon of the 24th to announce the results of the temporary delegates' meeting and the vote. The total resignation of Kim and the leadership has also been foreshadowed. The day before, Minju Nochong held a temporary delegates' meeting online and conducted an electronic vote on the tripartite agreement to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. The result was a rejection with 61.7% voting against. In April, Minju Nochong proposed a "one-point tripartite dialogue to overcome the COVID-19 crisis" and began discussions with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), Korea Employers Federation (KEF), and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). The agreement included ▲raising the employment maintenance subsidy to 90% and extending it for three months ▲sharing labor-management pain to maintain employment ▲financial support such as the period industry stabilization fund ▲introduction of nationwide employment insurance ▲securing the financial soundness of employment insurance.

However, the failure to persuade within Minju Nochong ultimately placed all responsibility on Chairman Kim. The dominant analysis is that the failure to approve the agreement was due to opposition factions within Minju Nochong. The largest factional organization, the National Council, issued a statement on the 2nd of this month publicly demanding the scrapping of the agreement. None of the opposition attended the tripartite agreement debate held on the 21st. The absence of a "ban on layoffs" clause and provisions agreeing to cooperate with companies on reducing working hours and temporary shutdowns became grounds for opposing the agreement. While the Minju Nochong leadership acknowledged that "the tripartite agreement falls short of expectations," they countered that "it contains the best possible terms that the labor side could achieve within the realistic constraints of the tripartite framework."

◆Minju Nochong rejects social dialogue= This outcome is expected to have a significant impact on the direction of Minju Nochong's movement. By blocking the social dialogue it proposed itself due to internal opposition, Minju Nochong will find it difficult to re-enter the center of social dialogue going forward. Its negotiating power with the government on various labor issues is also expected to weaken. At the press conference announcing the delegates' meeting, Chairman Kim expressed concern, saying, "If we cannot make a responsible decision regarding the social dialogue proposed by Minju Nochong, it will be impossible to establish a framework for government negotiations in the future," adding, "Negotiating power, social responsibility, political status, and labor-government consultations by affiliated and subordinate organizations are expected to suffer serious damage." Already boycotting the official social dialogue body, the Economic, Social and Labor Council, Minju Nochong may be excluded from any future social dialogue, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.

Within the labor community, there is speculation that Minju Nochong will find it difficult to re-enter the center of social dialogue at least during the current government's term.

◆'Brakes' on the expansion of the largest union's influence= Facing external criticism of being "confrontation-oriented," Minju Nochong's efforts to expand its influence are also expected to be hindered. At the end of last year, Minju Nochong surpassed the FKTU to become the largest labor union with over one million members. However, conflicts during the vote on the tripartite agreement may affect the withdrawal or new membership of affiliated unions with differing directions. Recently, the Bank of Korea union withdrew from Minju Nochong on the 17th, explaining that "the direction did not align with the upper organization." A Prime Minister's Office official involved in leading the tripartite dialogue said, "We are closely monitoring the situation and plan to discuss it further, but at this time, there are no plans to issue a separate statement."

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