New labor rules spark job-loss fears

By Choi Sung-jin

Whatever government officials may say, its new “employment guidelines” _ which adds workers’ “performance” to reasons for dismissal _ will make it far easier for managers to sack employees, labor experts say.

The rules, which the Ministry of Labor and Employment announced on Friday, allow employers to fire underperforming workers, as in the U.S. and Europe.

Although the guidelines limit the targets of such “general dismissal” to workers delivering exceptionally poor performance that they are a burden to their colleagues, personnel management officers within corporations can decide the criteria, union officials said Monday.

Too many workers, except those whose jobs can be quantified, such as sales, could lose their jobs through subjective assessment, the officials said.

The rules also call for first providing on-the-job retraining for such underachievers before firing them, but this would also have considerable ill-effects. Not only would it stigmatize such workers, it would take away time that could be used to improving their performances at their old jobs by being forced to spend too much time learning new skills.

LG Electronics, for instance, has offered training programs for low scorers in man-rating every year. This year, it has selected employees who have received C or lower marks for three years, causing complaints among trainees that the training itself could serve as a prior notice for dismissal, the sources said. “The training only of underachievers seems to stress the need for restructuring,” said one such employee on an in-house SNS site.

But a company official said, “The program is aimed at helping low-raters successfully come back to their current jobs, and has nothing to do with restructuring. Among those who completed the course, none have left the company.”

By industry, the banking sector is most vulnerable to new rule, amid the rapid spread of fintech and Internet banking, labor experts said.

KB Kookmin Bank, for instance, recently realigned its business network of 1,138 branches in 33 regional headquarters to 148 regional headquarters in 30 regional business groups. Shinhan Bank and NH Bank are also considering combining several small branches into one large outlet, in what experts say is part of their efforts to merge and integrate small stores.

“Although there are no specific plans about manpower trimming, there are talks about restructuring,” a banking executive said. “If and when the government’s new employment rules are put into practice in earnest, some downsizing will likely be inevitable.”

Meanwhile, article 23 of the Labor Standard Act warns against firing a person without a justifiable reason.