Passed by the Foreign Affairs Committee Bill Subcommittee
Likely to be processed in the plenary session on the 26th
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The ratification proposal for the International Labour Organization (ILO) core conventions passed the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's bill review subcommittee on the 19th, just over two months after the labor union-related laws were amended in December last year. If the ratification proposal passes the plenary session on the 26th, the government is highly likely to proclaim it early next month.
The National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee held a bill review subcommittee meeting the day before and submitted the ratification proposal for the ILO core conventions (Nos. 29, 87, and 98) as agenda items 1 to 3, passing them. Conventions No. 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize) and No. 98 (Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining) were processed solely by the Democratic Party after the People Power Party members walked out.
Core conventions Nos. 87 and 98 concern the protection of the right to organize and collective bargaining. The Democratic Party handled the related labor union laws last December. The amendments allow dismissed and unemployed workers to join and participate in enterprise-level unions, abolish the current rank restrictions limiting union membership to public officials below grade 6, and delete the provision prohibiting salary payments to full-time union officials.
With the ratification proposal processed, the controversy surrounding pressure from the European Union (EU), which had been a subject of debate among the government, labor, and management, is expected to be resolved. In 2018, the EU initiated a dispute resolution procedure between countries, accusing Korea of neglecting efforts to ratify the conventions stipulated in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). All procedures concluded last November after the expert panel hearing, with the panel stating that Korea did not violate the FTA but recommending further discussions on the establishment notification system.
The labor sector is currently demanding a re-amendment of the labor union law after ratification. They argue that merely allowing dismissed workers to join enterprise-level unions is insufficient and that the qualifications for union executives should be autonomously determined, guaranteeing the right to unionize for all workers, including special employment workers (teukso gyojeopjik, teukgo).
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