① Government to seek implementation of major labor reforms at the workplace level
The Ministry of Employment & Labor announced four key labor reform tasks whose implementation at the workplace will be backed up by labor inspections and wage/collective bargaining guidelines.
* The Four key labor reform tasks: ① Refrain from wage increases for the top 10% of high-income employees and expand youth employment; ② Shift from seniority-based wage systems to job- and performance-based ones; ③ Promote fair human resource management (HRM) practices; and ④ Strengthen protection for vulnerable workers.
[Table 1] Government Guidelines on the Four Labor Reform Areas
|
Four Key Labor Reform Areas |
Labor Inspections |
Wage/Collective Bargaining Guidelines |
|
Refrain from increasing wages for top 10% of high-income workers & promote youth employment |
– |
▴Provide guidance on setting reasonable compensation levels considering factors such as the extended retirement age and labor productivity
▴Urge large and public companies to refrain from excessive wage increases ▴Use funds thus saved to create more jobs |
|
Shift from seniority-based wage systems to job- & performance-based ones |
– |
▴Select 1,150 target workplaces to encourage adoption of a peak wage system
▴Promote job- & performance-based wage systems without severe wage reductions |
|
Promote fair HRM practices |
▴ Inspect workplaces engaging in unfair labor practices such as prolonged non-compliance with Labor Relations Commission orders for worker reinstatement without justifiable reasons, and physical abuse | ▴Establish a support team for competency-based HRM |
|
Strengthen protection of vulnerable workers |
▴Inspect industrial complexes for illegally dispatched workers
▴Inspect workplaces employing a large number of youth ▴Regular, frequent inspections for discrimination against non-regular workers |
▴Establish guidelines on employment security for fixed-term workers
▴Revise guidelines on protecting working conditions for in-house subcontracted workers |
|
Other |
– |
▴Correct illegal or unreasonable collective agreements |
Meanwhile, as the MOEL will implement guidelines on protecting fixed-term and in-house subcontracted workers and strengthen labor inspections, enterprises are likely to have more personnel management difficulties.
[Table 2] Government Guidelines on Fixed-term and Subcontracted Workers
| Main Points | |
|
Fixed-term workers |
▴Convert employment status of fixed-term workers doing regular/continuous work into open-ended contract employment when the work has continued for two years and is expected to continue in the future
▴There shall not be discrimination between workers whose status is converted to open-ended contract employment and other workers engaged in the same or similar kind of work ▴Unreasonably short employment contract periods shall be prohibited if the intention is to repeatedly renew a fixed-term employment contract |
| In-house subcontracted workers | ▴Primary contractor companies shall make efforts to pay the contract price in an appropriate manner (in terms of wage etc.) to prevent unreasonable discrimination between in-house subcontracted workers and the primary contractor’s workers doing the same or similar kind of work
▴Subcontractors shall make efforts to ensure that there is no unreasonable discrimination between in-house subcontracted workers and the primary contractor’s workers doing the same or similar kind of work ▴ Primary contractor and subcontractor companies shall share necessary information between them to prevent unreasonable discrimination between their workers |