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| Members of a civic group stage a rally in front of the office of the Economic, Social and Labor Council in Seoul, Thursday, denouncing the council's decision to expand the application period for flexible work hours, which they claim will be deleterious to irregular employees' working conditions. / Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
The government's labor policy to restore dialogue between labor and management and lay the groundwork for economic resurgence seems to be hitting a snag, dented by non-cooperation from workers.
The Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC), launched last November, was scheduled to have a general meeting, Thursday, to officially resolve its earlier deal on expanding the application period of the flexible work hour system.
However, the meeting was canceled due to a lack of a quorum, after three out of four representatives from the labor sector at the 17-member ESLC boycotted, saying they were excluded from the agreement reaching process.
Resolving the disagreement requires holding a meeting with more than half of all members from each sector ― labor, management and government ― in attendance and consent from at least two-thirds of those members who are present.
For this reason, President Moon Jae-in, who initially planned to join the meeting, also canceled his attendance.
Other than the flexible work hour system issue, the council was supposed to resolve other agreements, including giving a state allowance to jobseekers in low-income households.
The failure may deal a major blow to the Moon administration which is seeking to double down on its economic agenda by restoring dialogue on labor issues.
In addition, the setback carries extra weight as the consensus was the council's first agreement since its launch in November, putting the body off to a sluggish start.
"If things like this reoccur, the ESLC may be dysfunctional," Park Tae-ju, its standing member, said in a press conference.
"In the future, the council could have trouble handling other social agreements."
ESLC Chairperson Moon Sung-hyun also said, "We plan to explore alternatives, including changing decision-making procedures, to operate the council more effectively."
He added the council will hold another meeting on Monday.
On Feb. 19, representatives from labor and management agreed to expand the application period for the flexible work hour system, which allows companies to adjust working hours of employees in a lump-sum manner, to six months from the current three months.
However, three labor sector delegates representing women, young people aged between 19 and 29 and irregular workers refused to attend the Thursday meeting, claiming their opinions were not reflected in the agreement-making process and only the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), one of the two umbrella unions, took part in the process as a representative of the labor sector.
In addition, the absence of another umbrella union, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), is also disrupting the President's labor policy.
The KCTU is vehemently opposing agreements regarding the flexible work hour system and the revised decision-making process for raising the minimum wage.
"The government is pushing ahead with conglomerate-friendly and anti-labor policies," KCTU Chairman Kim Myung-hwan said in front of the National Assembly in Seoul during a one-day strike, Wednesday.
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