Labor Trends – Labor InFocus

1. Unions put forward labor policy demands ahead of the presidential election

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) announced its preferred presidential candidate on 27 April, and held a policy pact ceremony with the selected candidate on 1 May. The FKTU demands ▴ abolishment of the government’s two labor guidelines, ▴ scrapping of performance-based evaluation and pay systems in the public and finance sectors, ▴ guarantee of autonomous decision-making between labor and management to pay wages to full-time union officials, ▴ abolishment of requirement for workplaces with multiple unions to present a unified collective bargaining channel, ▴ minimum wage increase to KRW 10,000 (USD 8.80)

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held press conferences from 10 to 14 April, demanding that current labor issues be tackled, such as raising the minimum wage to KRW 10,000 and abolishing the use of non-regular workers.

[Table 1] Main Content of the KCTU Press Conferences

Dates	Main Content
10 April	Raise minimum wage to KRW 10,000 immediately Abolish the use of non-regular workers
11 April	Scrap performance-based HR management in the public sector Hire employees for safety-related jobs as regular workers and ban contracting out or privatization of that kind of work Legalize government employees’ union and guarantee their basic political rights
12 April	Legislate punishment of companies for severe accidents and ease the standards for recognition of an illness as occupational
13 April	Recognize those in special types of employment as legal employees
14 April	Release arrested labor activists and address labor issues in the workplaces concerned

2. Labor steps up strikes for raising minimum wage as negotiations kick off

The Minimum Wage Council held its plenary meeting on 6 April and began discussing minimum wage for 2018, but all 9 worker representatives are not participating until independence of the Minimum Wage Council is ensured and the method changed for appointing public interest representatives.

With progressive civil society organizations, the KCTU set up a joint action calling for abolishment of the use of non-regular workers and setting of KRW 10,000 (USD 8.80) as the minimum wage (called ‘10,000 won actions’) on 5 April. The KCTU is seeking to sway public opinion by focusing attention on the minimum wage issue.

[Table 2] Plans for “10,000 Won Actions”

Dates	Activities
13 April	Press conference to urge considering workers in special types of employment as employees
17 ~ 20 April	Press conference with labor groups and civil society organizations to demand minimum wage of KRW 10,000, abolishment of non-regular employment, and breaking up of conglomerates
22 April	Grand march of 10,000 people to demand KRW 10,000 minimum wage and converting non-regular workers to regular employment
27 May	Cultural event to demand KRW 10,000 minimum wage and abolishment of non-regular employment (downtown Seoul)
30 June ~ 8 July	General Strike Week General strike set to begin 30 June, workers’ rally on 8 July

The KCTU plans to target its efforts on its demand for raising the minimum wage rather than participate in the Minimum Wage Council, giving notice of its intention to carry out negotiations with government after the new administration is established.