Ordinary Wage
The labor world and employers are about to have the final talks over the shortening of working hours to 52 hours a week and the scope of ordinary wages.
The Environment and Labor Committee of the National Assembly held the third representative meeting on April 7 and decided to draw up a bill or propose a recommendation to this end through intensive negotiations by April 14, before reporting to the plenary session of the committee scheduled for April 15.
During the meeting, both of the parties agreed to cutting the weekly maximum work hours from 68 to 52, but failed to address a disagreement over when to implement the new system. The government and the ruling Saenuri Party are currently insisting on 2016, whereas the labor world and opposition parties are claiming that it be implemented immediately. The employers are demanding a grace period of one year, too.
When it comes to the ordinary wage, the parties continued showing different opinions as to its scope and whether the bill should be enacted in the extra session of the National Assembly this month. They also failed to reach a consensus for the major issues regarding the improvement of the labor-management relations and labor-political relations.
Under the circumstances, the committee is planning to hold a public hearing between April 9 and 10 to collect more opinions. The four days until April 14 are likely to be the final negotiation period before the committee is closed on April 15. Still, the legislation at the extra session is unlikely to be smooth, due to the opposing opinions surrounding the shortening of working hours, scope of ordinary wages, and measures to improve the relations of the parties concerned.
“In the end, all of the parties representing labor, management, and government have to make a concession at least in some part,” said a lawmaker associated with the committee, adding, “A package deal seems to be the most viable solution as of now, with the differences in opinions lingering on.”