Ministry of Employment to Exclude Two Major Labor Unions from Industrial Accident Deliberation Committee

Ministry of Labor: "Expanding Eligibility for Worker Representatives on Industrial Accident Review Committee from 'General Federation Organizations'"

The Ministry of Employment and Labor is pushing for a plan to exclude the two major labor unions from its subordinate government committee.

On the 18th, the Ministry announced that it will soon issue a legislative notice for a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, which changes the composition of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance and Prevention Deliberation Committee (Industrial Accident Deliberation Committee).

The Industrial Accident Deliberation Committee is a committee that deliberates on industrial accident insurance premium rates and basic plans for industrial accident prevention. It is composed of five worker members recommended by the "federation of labor unions," five employer members recommended by the "nationwide representative employer organizations," and five public interest members.

Currently, the five worker members consist of three recommended by the Korea Federation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and two recommended by the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU). Initially, the Ministry had issued a legislative notice the day before to expand the terms "federation of labor unions" to "worker organizations" and "nationwide representative employer organizations" to "employer organizations," but later canceled it citing a "staff error."

A Ministry official said, "We were still reviewing the wording of the amendment, but it was posted by mistake. However, since the purpose of the amendment remains the same, we will reissue the legislative notice once the wording is finalized."

The government explained the reason for the amendment, stating, "Because the recommending organizations are limited, a small number of labor unions and employer organizations effectively hold the appointment rights for committee members," and "the same members continue to be reappointed, making it difficult for diverse and capable experts to enter."

At the same time, it said, "Since the two major labor unions will also be given the right to recommend members, this does not mean excluding the two major labor unions."

Meanwhile, in May, the Ministry of Health and Welfare excluded the two major labor unions when forming the Health Insurance Financial Management Committee.

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