By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) displayed strong opposition Thursday to a set of bills that it fears will weaken the labor movement.
The National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee endorsed a bill Wednesday that would permit multiple unions at a single workplace and ban wage payments to full-time union leaders by companies starting on July 1, 2010.
Of the 15 committee members, eight lawmakers of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) voted for the bill in the presence of Rep. Choo Mi-ae, chairwoman of the panel.
The bill will become law if it is approved at the Legislations and Judiciary Committee and then passed by the Assembly during a plenary session.
The KCTU, which is the more militant of the nation's two umbrella labor groups, said that some 800,000 of its members will stage a walkout by April 15 should the Assembly ultimately pass the bill.
The union also denounced Choo for railroading the bill. ``It is unacceptable that the committee chairwoman pushed for the bill without consent from all members and has ignored our position,'' said KCTU President Lim Sung-kyu at a press conference in Yeouido, Seoul.
``We will exert all efforts to stop the passage of the bill, which would annihilate the labor movement.'' The KCTU said that all of its members were fully prepared to stage a walkout.
The Korea Employers Foundation also expressed regret over the bill.
``The bill undermines the agreement previously made among labor groups, management and the government,'' the foundation said in a statement.
The bill stipulates that firms will be banned from paying full-time union officials from July next year, and a multiple-union system will go into full effect starting in July 2011. The original implementation had been set for Friday.
Due to fierce opposition from both labor and management, the government has on three occasions delayed implementing the bill, originally legislated back in 1997.
Under the planned changes, all unions will have to express their views via one coordinated body during labor-management negotiations. If they fail to reach an agreement a first time, the union with the most members will have the right to bargain on behalf of the other unions.
If labor unions demand collective negotiations without forming a single channel, employers can reject the bargaining proposal and will not be punished for unfair labor practices.
Employees working for a labor union in addition to their regular job can be partly subject to paid leave only when their union activities are considered ``related to the improvement of the labor-management relationship.''
The main opposition Democratic Party claims the adjusted plans give ``special favors'' to business groups.
``We claim the vote null and void,'' said party member Kim Jae-yoon after the bill was passed by the parliamentary committee.
Despite the objection from opposition parties, the revised bill will likely win parliamentary approval, with the ruling party controlling a majority of 169 seats in the 298-member unicameral house.