Small and Medium Enterprises Sector "Welcomes Government's Working Hours System Reform Plan"

Kim Ki-moon, President of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business.

The government announced on the 6th that it will push for a major reform of the '52-hour workweek system,' and the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector expressed a welcoming stance.

The Korea Federation of SMEs stated in a press release that day, "We welcome the government's announcement of the working hours system reform plan, which expands the allowable unit period for extended work hours from the current weekly basis to monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual units, and allows extended work hours to be chosen through labor-management agreement."

The Federation explained, "Although the 52-hour workweek system has been fully implemented for a year and a half, 42% of small manufacturing companies still report difficulties complying with the system due to severe labor shortages and irregular overtime work. Furthermore, with the expiration of the additional 8-hour overtime allowance for workplaces with fewer than 30 employees at the end of last year, the SME sector is currently in a state of confusion."

The Federation added, "Fortunately, with this government reform plan expanding the options for the unit period of extended work hours, it has become possible to utilize working hours tailored to the characteristics of industries and on-site conditions. We expect that management difficulties such as meeting delivery deadlines and labor shortages will be significantly alleviated."

The Federation also urged that various expansions of extended work hour limits should continue to be considered. It emphasized, "While we agree that protecting workers' health rights is an important issue, to enhance the effectiveness of system improvements, preparations must be made for surges in workload. We need to additionally consider options that allow autonomous selection based on labor-management agreements, such as not setting limits on extended work hours like in the United States, or permitting up to 100 hours of monthly extended work and 720 hours annually as in Japan."