1. Pending labor reform bills
The ruling Saenuri Party invited on 4 March the main opposition Minjoo Party and the People’s Party leadership to form six-party talks to deal with major bills including labor reform, and also requested convening of a provisional session of the National Assembly. The provisional parliamentary session was kicked off on 11 March and will close on 9 April.
Meanwhile, President Park Geun-hye urged lawmakers again to pass the labor reform and economic bills during a meeting with senior presidential secretaries on 7 March.
However, as each political party is focusing on its list of candidates ahead of the April general elections, the immediate future of pending labor and economic bills (including the service industry development bill) is uncertain.
The ruling Saenuri Party has expressed its determination to pass the economic bills during the present provisional session of the National Assembly in March. However, some say that the labor reform bills should be passed only after the National Assembly Advancement Act is amended after the April general elections.
2.Government begins follow-up measures for labor reform
With or without labor reform legislation in the National Assembly, the government has been pushing ahead with its follow-up measures to labor market reform. The Ministry of Employment & Labor (MOEL) will offer consulting services and support for collective bargaining to promote awareness of its labor guidelines on fair HR management and employment rules.
President Park Geun-hye held the 8th plenary session of the National Economic Advisory Council on 24 February and called for prompt passage of the labor reform bills and soft landing of the two major labor guidelines. The Council also suggested that the Economic & Social Development Commission strengthen its representative role by including the youth and non-regular workers and improve on the current decision-making process, which is based on agreement among social partners.
In the policy evaluation meeting on 7 March, the Minister of Employment & Labor emphasized that the two labor guidelines should be fully reflected into this year’s collective wage agreements. On 10 March, the MOEL and other relevant government agencies together announced ‘measures to promote win-win employment by addressing the dual structure of the labor market’ at the national policy coordination meeting.
3.Unions focus on anti-government activities in the first half of 2016
On 24 February, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions held a national convention of union representatives and announced its strike plans in order to force the government to scrap the two labor guidelines.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions also announced its strike plans for this year against the government-led labor reform during its national convention on 5 February. However, as the KCTU president, Han Sang-gyun, has been jailed and the government has shown its unwillingness to tolerate illegal industrial actions by unions, the KCTU is unlikely to be able to actively stage anti-government activities this year.