Union Activities Allowed at Workplaces for Dismissed and Unemployed Workers... Restrictions Lifted Starting Next Year

Passage of 10 Bills Including 3 ILO Core Conventions in Plenary Session
Guaranteeing Free Union Activities... Concerns Over Intensified Conflicts
Korea Employers Federation Expresses "Deep Frustration... Calls for Supplementary Legislation"
Application of Employment Insurance for Special Types of Workers, Ensuring Effectiveness of Industrial Accident Compensation

Minister Lee Jae-gap of the Ministry of Employment and Labor / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Restrictions on union membership in the private and public sectors will be significantly eased starting next year. Dismissed workers and the unemployed will also be able to participate in wage negotiations and strikes. The business community expressed concerns that labor-management relations will lose balance and conflicts will intensify.

According to the government and the National Assembly on the 10th, ten bills under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, including the three labor relations laws for ratifying the International Labour Organization (ILO) core conventions, passed the plenary session of the National Assembly yesterday.

The three ILO core convention laws?the Trade Union Act, the Public Officials Union Act, and the Teachers Union Act?are scheduled to be enforced six months after their promulgation. Accordingly, from the first half of next year, dismissed workers and the unemployed are expected to be allowed to join unions. Public officials at grade 5 and above, as well as firefighters, will also be permitted to join unions.

This legal amendment was made to lay the groundwork for the government to ratify the ILO core conventions. Among the core conventions not yet ratified by South Korea, the contentious issue of "freedom of association" refers to the principle that labor and management can autonomously establish, join, and operate organizations without any interference. To uphold this principle, the law was amended to lift restrictions on union membership qualifications and guarantee free union activities.

Although the purpose is to guarantee legitimate labor rights, in South Korea, where confrontational labor-management relations have persisted for years, unforeseen side effects may arise. For example, while dismissed workers and the unemployed were cited, in extreme cases, people completely unrelated to the company could join the union. The business community fears that professional protesters might intervene, causing union activities to become politically distorted or strikes and other collective actions to become more radical. Although non-working union members such as dismissed workers and the unemployed are prohibited from holding important positions like executives or delegates, they can still effectively become the core of union activities.

Additionally, the amendment includes a new provision requiring the state or local governments to support labor relations parties in autonomously choosing various negotiation methods and to make efforts to activate collective bargaining accordingly. This increases the government's obligations and responsibilities in promoting collective bargaining between labor and management. Especially as the government maintains a pro-labor stance, concerns have been raised that the expansion of large company unions will disrupt the balance in labor-management relations.

The business community's demands to restore the balance of power between labor and management?such as allowing replacement labor during strikes, prohibiting workplace occupation, and abolishing direct criminal penalties for unfair labor practices?were not accepted. On the 9th, the Korea Employers Federation issued a press release stating, "The business community cannot help but feel serious concern and deep frustration," and requested, "Please pursue supplementary legislation so that at least some of the core demands of the business community can be reflected, even in this extraordinary session of the National Assembly."

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Meanwhile, the Labor Standards Act, which expands the unit period for flexible working hours, and the Employment Insurance Act amendment for applying employment insurance to special-type workers (Special Employment Workers, SEWs), also passed the plenary session. The unit period for flexible working hours will be extended from the current maximum of 3 months to 6 months. For research and development work on new products and new technologies, the settlement period for the selective working hours system will be extended from the current 1 month to a maximum of 3 months.

The Employment Insurance Act, which mandates the automatic enrollment of SEWs in employment insurance, will take effect from July next year. Employment insurance premiums for SEWs will be jointly borne by the workers and the employers. Employers will withhold and pay the SEWs' share of the premiums. Unemployment benefits can be received for 120 to 270 days depending on the insured period and age if the insured has been enrolled in employment insurance for at least 12 months out of the 24 months prior to job separation and has involuntarily left their job. Unemployment benefits can also be received if the insured leaves due to a sustained income reduction above a certain level.

The amendment to the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, aimed at protecting SEWs who were in the "blind spot" of industrial accident insurance, will also be enforced from July 1 next year. Until now, SEWs in 14 occupations, including delivery drivers, were subject to industrial accident insurance, but nearly 80% applied for exemption, resulting in most not receiving industrial accident compensation. There were many abuses, such as applying for exemption at the employer's request or suggestion. The amendment stipulates that exemption applications can only be made when it is confirmed that the insured is not actually working due to legally defined reasons such as illness or parental leave.

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