By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Local industrial representatives Thursday urged the government to stick to the principle of banning full-time labor union officials from being paid.
Leaders of the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) issued a statement, urging the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) to specify the no-pay rule in its draft bill.
KCCI said it is not against allowing more than two unions in a company but it is premature to introduce the system from next year, calling for a delay of the introduction by 2.5 years as agreed among the Tripartite Committee involving the government, management and labor unions.
"Labor unions and management should open a new chapter in their labor history through close cooperation. Labor-management conflicts should no longer be a drag on the economy," KCCI said.
The Labor Law revision by the ruling party requires parliamentary approval this month to come into effect from next year.
Aside from the GNP-led bill, the opposition parties ― the Democratic Party and the Democratic Labor Party ― also have submitted a joint labor bill, which allows multiple unions but stipulates that each company should decide whether to provide wages to full-time union leaders or not.
Earlier this month, the government and the GNP made public a revision that calls for the introduction of multiple unions in a single company and a no-pay rule for full-time union leaders.
The agreement was made through an agreement with the more government-friendly Federation of Korean Trade Unions, instead of the hawkish and bigger Korean Federation of Trade Unions.
The GNP later added a code to the revision bill to the Labor Law, stipulating that full-time union leaders can be paid a salary once an agreement is made between management and the union.
Business organizations opposed the new code, which they said effectively waters down the previous accord.