"Government Explains 'ILO Convention Ratification as a Matter of National Prestige'... Business Community Counters, 'Adversarial Labor Relations Also a Challenge'"

KCCI "Business Community's Position Must Be Fully Reflected in Future National Assembly Discussions"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The Korea Employers Federation (KEF) reiterated on the 8th its stance regarding the government's approval of the ratification proposal for the International Labour Organization (ILO) core conventions at the Cabinet meeting on the 7th, stating that "this is a sovereign matter that must be decided by comprehensively considering each country's labor-management relations culture, legal systems, and practices," and warned that "in South Korea, where labor rights are strongly guaranteed, legal amendments will further increase the burden on labor-management relations in the industrial field."

KEF expressed its position on the 8th regarding the government's explanation about the ratification of the ILO core conventions given the previous day. First, concerning the government's explanation that ratifying the ILO core conventions is essential for national prestige and interests, KEF stated, "The business community fundamentally agrees on the necessity of ratifying the ILO core conventions," but pointed out that "South Korea's labor-management relations are internationally rated among the lowest and are identified as an obstacle to national development, which must also be improved as a national agenda from the perspective of national prestige."

Regarding the claim that the lack of ratification of the ILO core conventions poses a latent risk of trade disputes, KEF argued, "In the Korea-EU FTA agreement, social issues such as labor and environment are independently regulated in Chapter 13 of the agreement, separate from general trade dispute resolution," and added, "The issue of ratifying the ILO core conventions is designed structurally as a clause of effort, so it does not lead to economic sanctions or trade disputes." KEF emphasized, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor should not cite exaggerated and expansive inferences without legal grounds but should comprehensively collect and review opinions from related government departments such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, as well as trade experts at the government level."

On the issue of union officials' paid leave, which is claimed to be operated within the framework of the working hours exemption system and thus not problematic, KEF countered, "It is fundamentally a natural norm that wages for union officials should be borne by the union itself according to the principles of union autonomy, soundness, and no work no pay, which also aligns with the ILO core conventions." KEF expressed concern, stating, "If the government proposal proceeds as planned, conflicts in the industrial field will intensify due to additional expansion of working hours exemption and demands for paid union activity time by general union members who are not union officials, leading to increased loss of working days."

KEF argued, "Legal amendments allowing the membership of dismissed or unemployed persons in enterprise unions and expanding paid union activity time for union activists will further exacerbate confrontational, combative, and conflictual labor-management relations," and insisted, "Excessive regulation of unilateral unfair labor practices against employers, which does not conform to the basic spirit of the ILO or global standards, and prohibitions on workplace occupation acts that halt or obstruct business during strikes should also be improved as a package to promote rationalization and advancement of labor-management relations."

KEF questioned, "Why does the government emphasize only the guarantee of the right to organize while relatively neglecting the counter-rights of employers? Why does it not improve the combative labor-management relations and the high-wage, low-productivity economic structure that hinder national development?" and urged, "We hope that the business community's positions and concerns will be fully collected and reflected during the upcoming National Assembly discussions."