NPAD proposes measures to protect non-regular workers

By Kim Hyo-jin

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) proposed Sunday establishing an inter-party consultative body tasked with addressing the issue of non-regular workers.

NPAD Chairman Rep. Moon Jae-in and a party committee handling the issue announced a set of policy proposals to better protect non-regular employees during a press conference held at the National Assembly.

The proposals are expected to cast cloud over the ruling Saenuri Party’s attempt to enact a set of labor reform bills that aim to increase flexibility in the job market.

“The envisioned body would play a key role in revising related rules and narrowing differences with businesses over how to address non-regular workers,” Rep. Chung Sye-kyun who leads the NPAD committee said. “The body will seek to find a way to allow the employment of non-regular workers with condition-based terms, instead of period-based terms.”

They also proposed the abolition of discriminative policies for non-regular workers; strengthening responsibility for both enterprises and their subcontractors when hiring non-regular workers; and expanding support for dismissed non-regular workers to help them find new jobs.

“These reform measures are not only a key to solving non-regular workers, but also ways to reform the overall labor market and the economic structure,” Moon said.

“The Korean economy is staggering due to problems caused by the growing number of non-regular workers and the widening gap between wages for them and regular workers.”

The move came as a response to the ruling party’s push for the passage of five labor bills proposed in line with President Park Geun-hye’s reform drive.

Moon criticized the proposed bills, saying that if passed in parliament, they would aggravate issues related to non-regular workers.

“We cannot accept their legislative proposals. These will only increase the number of non-regular workers,” he said.

The bills proposed by the Saenuri Party in September ease the limitation of employing non-regular workers from two to four years. They also propose expanding the number of industries permitted to temporarily dispatch workers to other enterprises.