The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) plans to push ahead with job creation as its priority in 2017. During Q1, 30% of the year’s national budget for job creation (KRW 17 trillion or USD 14.8 billion) will be spent.
[Table 1] Major MOEL Policies in Support of Job Creation for 2017
|
Youth |
▲ Announce joint comprehensive measures of the related departments to support job creation for the youth
▲ Revise the Labor Standards Act (reduce working hours) ▲ Prepare performance-based recruiting guidelines |
|
Seniors & the Middle-aged |
▲ Develop policies to support outplacement services for middle-aged persons and seniors in SMEs
▲ Improve unemployment benefits coverage (65 years old → 69 years old) |
|
Restructuring |
▲ Strengthen measures to support employment in the shipbuilding industry
– Ease the assistance requirements in case of using unpaid leaves instead of employment adjustments ⊙ Shorten leave period (90 days → 30 days) ⊙ Extend period of industry designation for special employment assistance ▲ Strengthen monitoring of employment situation in steel and petrochemical industries – Set up meetings to check field employment situations, chaired by the Minister of Employment and Labor |
The MOEL plans to strengthen labor inspections of workplaces where many interns & youth are employed and of construction sites to prevent delayed payment of wages to ensure basic employment order.
[Table 2] Labor Inspections to Ensure Basic Employment Order
| ▲ Inspect basic employment order (February ~ November)
– 1st half of the year: Convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, bakeries – 2nd half of the year: Restaurants, gas stations, beauty shops ▲ Strengthen obligation of timely payment of wages in construction sector (May ~ August) – Strengthen the obligation of primary contractors regarding payment of wages to eradicate unfair retention of wages in the construction industry ▲ Regular inspection on low pay given to young workers, and inspect target franchises (August ~ November) |
The MOEL plans to carry out labor inspections of workplaces where subcontracted and dispatched workers are used with a view to alleviating disparities in the labor market.
[Table 3] Labor Inspections to Alleviate Disparities in the Labor Market
| ▲ Inspect multi-layered subcontracting
– Industries: IT, cement (in the 1st half of the year) / manufacturing of automobileelectronic components (in the 2nd half of the year) ▲ Inspect workplaces which use dispatched workers, in-house subcontracting – Dispatch: Workplaces that have not undergone recent inspections, and workplaces where many dispatched workers are employed (in the 1st half of the year) – In-house subcontracting: Call centers, electronics repair and retail or distribution (in the 2nd half of the year) ▲ Inspect workplaces already caught using illegally dispatched workers (throughout the year) – workplaces where the courts have made a final ruling that dispatched workers were used illegally, and workplaces where concerns exist that illegally-dispatched workers are used, as presented by the press and the National Assembly |