Gov't to seek Assembly ratification on core ILO conventions

Employment and Labor Minister Lee Jae-kap announces the government's plan to seek parliamentary approval of Key International Labor Organization conventions during a press briefing at the ministry building in Sejong, Wednesday. / Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

The government said Wednesday that it would send a motion to the National Assembly for it to ratify key conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

The decision came after 10 months of meetings of the Economic, Social and Labor Council that recently ended without reaching a consensus on ratification. Korea has been under pressure from the European Union to ratify four ILO conventions, which was a requirement of the free trade deal between Korea and the EU.

This is a change from the Moon Jae-in administration's earlier stance that relevant law revisions based on the consensus at the tripartite council of the labor, management and the public sector should come before ratification.

“The government will seek parliamentary approval of two ILO conventions on freedom of association and on the abolition of forced labor during the regular session of the National Assembly which starts in September,” Employment and Labor Minister Lee Jae-kap said in a press briefing at the Government Complex Sejong.

While the government will seek ratification of all three conventions, it needs to review the remaining convention related to punishing National Security Law violators.

Although Korea joined the ILO in 1991, it has not ratified four key conventions that will guarantee more freedom of association and collective bargaining for workers, mainly because of strong opposition from business managers. Ratification was one of Moon's election pledges.

Earlier this month, the ILO openly urged the government to ratify the key conventions before proceeding with related legislation, during a symposium organized by the Seoul Bar Association.