Row over flexible work hours intensifies in Korea as labour union clashes with business sector
- 5 years ago
탄력근로제 확대에 대한 갈등 격화... 전문가들, 노사간 자유로운 대화와 합의 시급
The government has been trying to reduce South Korea's working hours,... some of the longest in the world.
But the push to expand flexible work arrangements to help businesses deal with the cutbacks... has angered union workers.
An estimated 160-thousand of them went on strike today.
Oh Soo-young provides an in-depth analysis of this issue.
At this furniture factory in Incheon. 90 builders work around 12 hours a day when the orders flood in towards the end of the year.
But come 2020, when legal work hours are reduced to 52 a week for small and medium firms, the furniture maker worries it will have to cut back on orders, unless it can make use of more flexible work arrangements.
"I think expanding the flexible work hour system could help us cope with peak and off-peak seasons."
The government introduced the shorter work week policy to tackle South Korea's notoriously long working hours. The flexible work arrangement system aims to help firms optimise manpower,... by letting them increase hours during busy periods and cut back when there's less work,... as long as the hours average 52 a week over a three-month period.
But businesses say three months isn't enough to make up for lost productivity,... especially when SMEs are already reeling from a chronic labour shortage,...and the minimum wage hike this year.
"Competitive firms that are expanding abroad won't be able to run their factories normally or add to the economy due to the restrictions. They need more flexibility. Our study on two thousand firms found peak seasons average 5.6 months. This would require an adjustment period of about a year."
Reflecting their concerns and cases from other countries, the government is considering extending the time period.
However, umbrella unions are furious.
They say more flexibility would normalise longer hours of work without overtime pay and put workers' health at risk.
They say a six-month base period could reduce annual income by roughly 700 dollars.
Tens of thousands of unionised workers staged a strike on Wednesday.
Amid the rift, experts say a rational discussion is needed between unions and firms to minimise costs and losses for both sides.
"The government can provide a framework but unions and firms should decide freely how much flexibility is adequate, based on the nature of their industries,... whether it's three, four, six months or longer."
The issue is expected to be the main talking point for a new presidential advisory council on economic, social and labor affairs when it launches on Thursday.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.
The government has been trying to reduce South Korea's working hours,... some of the longest in the world.
But the push to expand flexible work arrangements to help businesses deal with the cutbacks... has angered union workers.
An estimated 160-thousand of them went on strike today.
Oh Soo-young provides an in-depth analysis of this issue.
At this furniture factory in Incheon. 90 builders work around 12 hours a day when the orders flood in towards the end of the year.
But come 2020, when legal work hours are reduced to 52 a week for small and medium firms, the furniture maker worries it will have to cut back on orders, unless it can make use of more flexible work arrangements.
"I think expanding the flexible work hour system could help us cope with peak and off-peak seasons."
The government introduced the shorter work week policy to tackle South Korea's notoriously long working hours. The flexible work arrangement system aims to help firms optimise manpower,... by letting them increase hours during busy periods and cut back when there's less work,... as long as the hours average 52 a week over a three-month period.
But businesses say three months isn't enough to make up for lost productivity,... especially when SMEs are already reeling from a chronic labour shortage,...and the minimum wage hike this year.
"Competitive firms that are expanding abroad won't be able to run their factories normally or add to the economy due to the restrictions. They need more flexibility. Our study on two thousand firms found peak seasons average 5.6 months. This would require an adjustment period of about a year."
Reflecting their concerns and cases from other countries, the government is considering extending the time period.
However, umbrella unions are furious.
They say more flexibility would normalise longer hours of work without overtime pay and put workers' health at risk.
They say a six-month base period could reduce annual income by roughly 700 dollars.
Tens of thousands of unionised workers staged a strike on Wednesday.
Amid the rift, experts say a rational discussion is needed between unions and firms to minimise costs and losses for both sides.
"The government can provide a framework but unions and firms should decide freely how much flexibility is adequate, based on the nature of their industries,... whether it's three, four, six months or longer."
The issue is expected to be the main talking point for a new presidential advisory council on economic, social and labor affairs when it launches on Thursday.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.