Weakening of Administrative Discipline Without Guidelines for Union Activities in Workplaces of Unemployed and Dismissed Workers

The Government Cannot Enforce Administrative Regulations Beyond Demands for Municipal Administration

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] As the government can no longer issue 'Not a Union (Illegal Union)' notifications, it has effectively lost its regulatory framework except for demands to correct intense union activities. It is expected that there will be no government-level guidelines for the scope and prohibition of union activities by unemployed and dismissed workers within workplaces, as requested by the business sector, for the time being.

On the 22nd, the government deliberated and approved partial amendments to the enforcement decrees of three laws?the Labor Union Act, the Public Officials Union Act, and the Teachers Union Act?that abolish the regulation on illegal union notifications at the Cabinet meeting. The amended labor relations laws, revised last December to ratify the core conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), will take effect from the 6th of next month, and the government has decided on matters delegated to the enforcement decrees by law.

Now, even unions disqualified under the Labor Union Act are difficult to regulate by judging them as illegal unions. Although the Ministry of Employment and Labor retains the phrase allowing it to demand correction within 30 days for disqualified unions, its effectiveness is low. Disqualified unions under the Labor Union Act refer to unions that include management personnel or non-workers as members, or unions primarily aimed at political activities.

The bigger problem is that there is no proper control measure even if non-working union members such as unemployed or dismissed workers conduct union activities around essential production facilities within the workplace. Because of this, the business sector fears an increase in union activities by disqualified unions and non-working union members. The government has been consistently asked to prepare official guidelines that prohibit non-working union members from entering essential production facilities, safety maintenance facilities, executive offices, etc., within the workplace and require prior approval from management before entry. Under current regulations, non-working union members may conduct union activities within the workplace 'to the extent that it does not interfere with the employer's efficient business operations.'

A business sector official said, "We hope the government will make efforts to minimize confusion that may arise during the implementation of the amended Labor Union Act by presenting realistic guidelines on the scope of union activities by non-working union members within workplaces." However, a government official said, "If the government issues guidelines, it could cause unnecessary noise (conflict), so there are no plans to issue guidelines on union activities within workplaces."

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