"Strike Causes Meal and Care Crisis... Request to Allow Substitute Labor"

As school irregular workers went on a general strike demanding the elimination of wage discrimination with regular workers, on the 25th of last month, students at a middle school in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, had lunch with alternative meals such as sandwiches and muffins instead of school meals. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Employers' organizations have requested the government to allow replacement labor during strikes and to prevent labor unions from occupying workplaces.

The Korea Employers Federation announced that it has selected 67 regulatory innovation tasks across five areas?labor, safety·health·environment, new industries·investment, corporate governance·management, and distribution·logistics·transportation?as necessary for overcoming the economic crisis and improving structural conditions, and submitted them to the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

They emphasized the need to improve the complete ban on replacement labor to correct the power imbalance between labor and management. Referring to last year's strike by the School Irregular Workers Solidarity that caused a crisis in childcare and meal services, they stated, "Allowing replacement labor during union strikes is urgent to minimize infringement on the right to learn and social losses."

They also pointed out problems with the current Labor Union Act, which only prohibits the occupation of major production facilities. Simply blocking entrances or logistics movement can halt production processes. Additionally, they requested easing the punishment levels under the Serious Accident Punishment Act, clarifying the definition of management responsibility, and specifying the obligations to ensure safety and health.

They saw the need to establish related infrastructure and support systems to activate bio-aviation fuel. Bio-aviation fuel is an aviation fuel made through synthetic technology that emits fewer greenhouse gases than conventional aviation fuel but costs about two to three times more to produce. They also requested deregulation of telemedicine, which is allowed in most OECD countries.

Furthermore, they requested easing or abolishing excessive regulations that cannot be found anywhere overseas, such as the mandatory shareholding ratio regulation for holding companies and the 3% voting rights restriction regulation, which were implemented through amendments to the Fair Trade Act last December. They argued that the prohibition of online delivery on mandatory holidays and restricted business hours for large marts and corporate supermarkets, as well as the regulation banning new permits for small diesel delivery vehicles starting next April, also need improvement.

Kim Jae-hyun, head of the Regulatory Reform Team at the Korea Employers Federation, emphasized, "Labor regulations that cause power imbalances between labor and management and deepen labor-management instability not only make job creation difficult but also cause enormous damage to the daily lives of ordinary citizens," adding, "They must be improved as soon as possible."

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