Details of the Comprehensive Measures for Non-regular Workers

The comprehensive measures from the government and Grand National Party (GNP) consist of 30 measures mainly focusing on abolishing discrimination against non-regular workers, and extending the social safety net and welfare for low-wage workers in micro-businesses.

– Publish the number of workers by employment type in public sectors

– Increase the deduction limit for investment in job creation (from 1% to ~6%)

– Promote more vocational training chances for non-regular workers

– Abolish discrimination against non-regular workers performing the same (or similar) duties as regular workers.

– ‘Guidelines to improve working conditions and wage equality’ will be enacted.

– Handle discrimination between workers in the same workplace even though the discrimination is not subject to correction under law.

– Regardless of the working period, primary contractors should directly hire in-house subcontract workers if they are ‘illegal dispatch’ workers.

– Promote dispatch for common use

– Primary contractors should write Rules of Employment that include information on working hours, holidays, vacations, and occupational safety and health issues.

– Promote legislation of standard contract forms for atypical workers.

– Temporary workers with contract terms of 1 year or less should not have probation periods where a reduced minimum wage is paid.

– To effectively apply the guidelines for in-house subcontract work in workplaces, the government will ⅰ) distribute a checklist for the guideline ⅱ) establish a ‘Report Center for Incidents of Illegal Subcontracting’ in regional labor offices ⅲ) and establish ‘supporting centre for improving working conditions for in-house subcontract workers.’

Enforceable provisions:   – Written agreements to be made for wages and other working conditions   – Written notice to be given of firings with reasons and dates   – Measures to be prepared for industrial accidents   – Subscribe to social insurance, and etc.  Recommendations   – When a primary contractor finishes a contract with one subcontractor and makes another contract with a different subcontractor, the primary contractor should do his best to maintain the same working conditions and employment for the workers of both subcontractors.   – The level of contribution of in-house subcontractors should be reflected in payment.   – Give opportunities to subcontract workers to express their opinions in the joint labor-management conference with the primary contractor.   – If the primary contractor hires new workers, he should try to hire in-house subcontract workers first.

Business standpoint on the government and ruling party’s comprehensive measures regarding non-regular workers

The government and the Grand National Party (GNP) together announced comprehensive measures for non-regular workers on September 9th, 2011 after consultations with each other.

Businesses certainly recognize that non-regular workers should have better working conditions to protect them in their more vulnerable situation. However, the measures announced fail to recognize the real situation of many enterprises and realities of the labor market, instead only strengthening non-regular employment regulations.
Working conditions for some non-regular workers may improve if these measures come into effect, but there is a high probability that the number of jobs will decrease. There is very limited leverage within the measures towards resolving issues for non-regular workers and without harming the job market at the same time, since the measures have been prepared mostly from a political viewpoint.
Hence, businesses would like to point out the following items and request measures which better reflect labor market realities.


First, there is no precedent for all non-regular employment being eliminated and replaced with directly-hired ‘regular workers.’
The measures are based on a prejudice against non-regular employment and a misunderstanding that they need to be eliminated, rather than recognize them as a legitimate form of employment. There is a regulation called ‘Posting of Employment Categories’ which forces companies to reveal the number of current non-regular employees they have to the public. This is a regulation that evaluates companies based on the proportion of non-regular to regular workers, with no parallel anywhere in advanced nations.

The measures are based on a prejudice against non-regular employment and a misunderstanding that they need to be eliminated, rather than recognize them as a legitimate form of employment. There is a regulation called ‘Posting of Employment Categories’ which forces companies to reveal the number of current non-regular employees they have to the public. This is a regulation that evaluates companies based on the proportion of non-regular to regular workers, with no parallel anywhere in advanced nations.
An average of 48% of workers chose non-regular work. In addition to this, companies vary according to their industrial characteristics. Nevertheless, the measures are only aware of public criticism that considers companies with many non-regular workers as ’bad companies,’ and forces them to hire more regular workers. This approach will make it difficult to manage our human resources efficiently and will reduce the number of jobs in the end.


Second, the principles of a market economy will be damaged if primary contractors must be responsible for employment and working conditions of their subcontract workers.
The measures include subcontract worker issues. Subcontract workers are not the non-regular employees of primary contractors, but the employees of subcontracted companies. Nevertheless, the measures only consider arguments by labor groups that subcontract workers are non-regular workers of the primary contractors, and hold primary contractors responsible for those subcontract workers.
Primary contractors and subcontracted companies are fundamentally different. Workers from primary contractors and subcontracted companies cannot be the subject of exact comparison and affirmative action. However, the measures require that subcontract workers from different companies and workers from primary contractors be treated equally, in terms of work clothing, amenities, welfare benefits, bonuses, wages and other working conditions.
The measures say that subcontracted workers should not be discriminated against simply because they work in the same place with workers of primary contractors, but wages and working conditions are set by each company based on its financial capabilities. It is not logical that primary contractors should intervene in the working conditions of other companies.
Also, forcing primary contractors to hire subcontract workers first would increase the shortage of people willing to work for SMEs, and reduce SMEs to the status of ’training schools’ in the end.

It also damages our constitutional base if primary contractors actively intervene in subcontractor independence at a time when primary contractors finish a contract with one subcontractor and make another contract with a different subcontractor. The measures fundamentally undermine the principles of a market economy, something which is guaranteed by the constitution.


Third, forcing primary contractors to directly employ illegal dispatch workers possibly violates the constitution.
Making direct employment a responsibility, as in the present, and counting subcontract workers as workers of primary contractors, as in the past, has been pointed out as violating the constitution, since the law enforces employment without serious consideration of the intention of the contracting parties or their circumstances.
Although regulating direct employment may improve an individual’s working conditions in the short term, this will likely damage those same working conditions in the long term, based on the possibilities that legally enforcing employment may harm freedom of contract, and further restrain overall employment.
It is for this reason that Japan, as an example, requires primary contractors to directly hire workers only under unusual circumstances, even if the worker in question is an illegal dispatch worker.

It is notable that major advanced nations, to create more jobs, have promoted dispatch with minimum restrictions on the period of dispatch and types of work. In particular, illegal dispatch issues regarding subcontracting are not even seriously discussed in advanced nations.  The rigidity in Korea’s dispatch laws, which restrict types of work and periods allowed, should be eased first.
We need to seriously contemplate the ’Hartz concept’ from Germany, which is widely considered a successful stabilization of wages and creation of jobs through deregulation of employment and promotion of employment flexibility.


Fourth, overprotection of regular workers, which is often addressed as the root cause of non-regular worker issues, must be tackled first.

Discrimination and wage gaps between workers are attributed to poor wage systems and excessive wage increases for regular workers. The wage gap has widened with trade unions in large enterprises pursuing their own interests, and excessive wage increases in the seniority-based wage system. An effective way to resolve this situation would be a performance-based wage system and refraining from excessive wage hikes.
In particular, overprotection of and excessive wage increases for regular workers in big enterprises are creating inflexibility in the labor market. Without resolution of these issues, better treatment for non-regular workers and job creation will continue to be impossible.
Improving labor market flexibility cannot be ignored as the global trend in dealing with protection of non-regular workers. Effective labor market policies will be based on this premise.
Business will do its utmost to prevent unreasonable discrimination and disharmony between workers in the same workplace. Without damaging SME autonomy and the important role they play, business will also work to promote worker welfare, and seek the approval of the nation by contributing to shared growth for all.