Workers up in arms over flexible working hours
Members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions hold a rally in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Saturday, calling on the government to scrap its plan to expand the flexible work hour system. /Yonhap
By Kim Jae-heun
The backlash against the government's plan to expand the flexible work hour system is intensifying in the labor sector with the nation's two major umbrella unions going all-out to scrap it.
Under the current flexible work hour system, workers only have to keep their working time under an average 52 hours a week for three months. The government plans to increase this to a six-month maximum.
The Federation of Korean Trade Union (FKTU) held a rally in front of the National Assembly, Saturday, to protest against the government plan, denouncing it as an “anti-labor” policy that ruling and opposition parties are now discussing.
About 30,000 FKTU members participated in the protest.
“I cannot sit and watch the labor policy retreating and the government's income-led growth initiative failing. The FKTU will wage an all-out war if the government pushes ahead with its plans to expand the flexible work hour system and revise the minimum wage system,” FKTU Chairman Kim Ju-young said in his opening speech.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) is also set to stage a general strike, Wednesday, to protest against the plan. According to the KCTU, about 20,000 people are expected to participate.
“The flexible work hour system only legalizes long hours of labor and it mass-produces temporary workers,” said KCTU Chairman Kim Myung-hwan.
Other KCTU executive members argued that several workers at public medical institutions still remained in their temporary positions, claiming President Moon Jae-in had forgotten his promise made at a candlelit rally last year.
The Moon administration introduced the flexible work hour system at public institutions in July as part of efforts to create jobs and improve the quality of life for employees.
The system went into effect at private and public companies with 300 or more employees.
However, the labor sector argues that this could lead to a 7 percent decrease in laborers' income because they cannot receive extra money for overtime.
It says a worker on 10,000 won ($8.9) an hour could lose 780,000 won in six months.