Small and Medium Enterprises Association: "Yellow Envelope Act Causes Breakdown in Labor-Management Relations"

Yellow Envelope Act Passes Subcommittee of National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee
Korea Federation of SMEs and Korea Association of Mid-sized Enterprises Express Opposition

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Small and Medium Business and Mid-sized Enterprise sectors strongly criticized the passage of the amendment to the Labor Union Act (Yellow Envelope Act) through the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee subcommittee. They expressed concerns that if this amendment is implemented, illegal labor union strikes will increase in industrial sites, causing enormous damage to corporate and national competitiveness and leading to irreparable breakdowns in labor-management relations.

The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz) issued a statement on the 15th, saying, "The small and medium business sector expresses strong anger over the forced passage of the Labor Union Act amendment, which limits claims for damages against illegal labor union strikes, at the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee subcommittee." While workers' right to strike is a constitutional fundamental right, protecting even illegal strikes by law is, in fact, contrary to the constitution and neglects the majority of labor unions that operate legally, according to the small and medium business sector.

Kbiz stated, "We deeply regret that the National Assembly, which should protect socially vulnerable groups and stabilize people's livelihoods, grants immunity for illegal acts to large labor unions, while not even discussing the introduction of an additional 8-hour weekly extended work system for small businesses and workers." They added, "The National Assembly should immediately halt deliberations on the Labor Union Act amendment and repeal the bill, and expedite the review and passage of the amendment to the Labor Standards Act to introduce the additional 8-hour weekly extended work system."

The mid-sized enterprise sector also clearly opposed the amendment. The Korea Federation of Mid-sized Enterprises (KFM) expressed serious concerns in a statement, saying, "Despite widespread worries about weakening corporate competitiveness and expanding social conflicts, the passage of the Yellow Envelope Act through the subcommittee is deeply concerning. In the future legislative process, not only should the bill be repealed, but a progressive revision acceptable to the field must be carried out."

KFM pointed out, "The Yellow Envelope Act, which restricts companies, includes persons in positions who are not parties to labor contracts as employers, changes 'claims regarding working conditions' to 'claims concerning working conditions,' thereby expanding the scope of legal strike actions, and completely ignores the opinions of companies as legal parties, making it difficult to claim proper legitimacy."

They continued, "We urge the National Assembly to face the harsh realities of the global economic environment, move beyond the formal closure of legislative procedures such as the agenda coordination committee and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and restart fundamental discussions from scratch centered on the real demands of both ruling and opposition parties, the government, companies, labor unions, and civil society to safeguard the national economy."

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