Lee Jae-gap "Regret Misunderstandings About the Labor Union Act... Aim to Pass Within the Year for ILO Core Convention Ratification"

Attending Expert Panel... "Amendment of Labor Union Act Must Precede Ratification of ILO Core Conventions"
"'Full Payment of Union Officials' Salaries by Companies' and 'Indiscriminate Union Activities' Are Not True"

Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor, said regarding the Trade Union Act (Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act) for ratifying the International Labour Organization (ILO) core conventions, "It is regrettable that misunderstandings about the government's legislative bill continue."

Minister Lee attended an expert discussion on the amendment of the Trade Union Act related to the ILO core conventions held at the Seoul Banking Hall on the 16th and stated, "Amendment of the Trade Union Act must be a prerequisite for ratifying the ILO core conventions."

The Trade Union Act currently being revised by the government includes provisions allowing dismissed workers and unemployed persons to join unions and deleting the regulation prohibiting payment of wages to full-time union officials. The business community argues that the amendment bill is biased toward strengthening labor rights and does not fit the domestic situation, raising concerns that it could exacerbate labor-management conflicts.

In his congratulatory remarks that day, Minister Lee explained, "Although our country joined the ILO in 1991, even after 30 years, we have not ratified the conventions related to freedom of association, which embody the most fundamental spirit of the rights to organize, collective bargaining, and collective action."

He continued, "The conventions related to freedom of association are universal norms ratified by 154 out of 187 ILO member countries," adding, "It is a shame that our country, which should lead the New Normal era, has not even complied with basic international norms."

He also argued that ratification of the core conventions is necessary to resolve uncertainties in the economic and trade sectors amid ongoing dispute procedures between Korea and the European Union (EU) due to non-ratification of the ILO core conventions.

He said, "The government's legislative bill guarantees the core contents of freedom of association while deeply reflecting the unique characteristics of labor-management relations in our companies," and added, "We will do our best to have the amendment bill passed within this year."

Minister Lee expressed his thoughts, saying, "If the government's legislative bill needs supplementation, we will carefully review it again during the National Assembly's legislative discussion process," but also lamented, "It is regrettable that misunderstandings about the government's legislative bill continue."

He emphasized, "Claims such as 'companies will have to pay all wages to full-time union officials' and 'reckless union activities by dismissed workers will be allowed,' which have been raised by some, are completely untrue."

Minister Lee requested, "Healthy discussions to prepare a more complete amendment to the Trade Union Act are definitely necessary, but please play a role in ensuring that the legislative content is not distorted or misrepresented."

Finally, he said, "I ask for continuous interest and affectionate suggestions so that ratification of the ILO core conventions and amendment of the Trade Union Act can serve as stepping stones for our labor-management relations to advance toward a path of mutual growth."

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