Assemblyman Lee Hyung-seok Proposes Bill to Establish Federation of Public Officials' Workplace Councils

Expectations for Establishing a Horizontal Organizational Culture to Resolve Communication Issues in the Public Sector

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] A bill has been proposed that allows the formation of a federation by the Public Officials' Workplace Council to enable consultation with heads of higher-level institutions.

On the 25th, Lee Hyung-seok, a member of the National Assembly (The Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Buk-gu Eul), announced that he had taken the lead in proposing a partial amendment to the "Act on the Establishment and Operation of Public Officials' Workplace Councils."

The amendment includes a mandatory provision requiring heads of higher-level institutions to implement matters agreed upon with the federation, and stipulates that workplace council activities are permitted during working hours.

Under the current Workplace Council Act, workplace councils can be established in institutions with heads at grade 4 or higher, but only one workplace council can be established per institution, prohibiting the establishment of a federation among workplace councils.

Additionally, workplace council activities during working hours are limited to consultations between the workplace council and the head of the institution, and there is no enforcement on the institution head to implement the agreed matters.

As a result, even if the workplace council consults with the head of the affiliated institution on issues such as improving working conditions and handling grievances, if the decision-making authority lies with a higher-level institution, it has been difficult to implement the agreed matters.

Furthermore, there have been criticisms that the lack of binding force on the implementation of consultations between the workplace council and the institution head renders the process ineffective.

There were also criticisms that since workplace council duties must be performed outside working hours, activities are only possible during off-duty or rest days, making it difficult to operate the workplace council.

Rep. Lee said, "With the amendment to the 'Workplace Council Act,' I hope an efficient system will be established where workplace councils and organizations can cooperate and develop together, resolving communication issues within organizations and serving as a stepping stone for democratic organizational management through a horizontal organizational culture."

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