Ministry of Employment to Implement 'Public Official Time Off' in Late Next Month

Ministry of Employment: "Administrative Procedures for Notices Expected to Take 30 Days"

On the 22nd, as the discussion on civil servants' working hours exemption (time off) reached a final agreement, the Ministry of Employment and Labor forecasted that "the exemption time could be used by the civil servants' labor unions as early as late next month.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor released reference materials on the same day, stating that "the 'limit on civil servants' working hours exemption' decided by the Civil Servants' Working Hours Exemption Deliberation Committee will take effect once the Chairperson of the Economic and Social Labor Council notifies the Minister of Employment and Labor in accordance with Article 24-2 of the Labor Union Act, and the Minister of Employment and Labor issues a public notice." It added, "The public notice must go through the administrative rulemaking procedures, including legal review (about 10 days), regulatory review (about 10 days), and administrative notice (20 days)." It explained, "This process is expected to take about 30 days."

Earlier, the Civil Servants' Working Hours Committee, a body under the Economic and Social Labor Council, held its 11th plenary meeting and finalized the limit on civil servants' time off. Time off is a system that allows union full-time officials to engage in union activities during working hours while setting a limit on this. In this case, paid union activities become possible. The government and civil servants' labor unions continued discussions after the Civil Servants' Labor Union Act was passed in the National Assembly plenary session in 2022, and after the Civil Servants' Working Hours Committee was formed in June, they conducted full-scale discussions, ultimately reaching this agreement.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor explained, "The limit on civil servants' working hours exemption refers to the maximum time that can be granted to unions by the minimum unit of establishment according to Article 5 of the Civil Servants' Labor Union Act." It added, "How much exemption time is granted to unions should be reasonably negotiated and decided considering each institution's personnel and budget conditions." Furthermore, it announced, "Considering that this is the initial stage of the system's introduction, the government plans to conduct education along with guidance and supervision to ensure sound operation of the system within the framework of the law."

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