By Kim Rahn
Widespread discrimination against non-regular workers will be a key topic discussed during tripartite talks later this month among representatives of labor, management and the government, officials said Tuesday.
According to the Economic and Social Development Commission, a presidential advisory body on labor issues, it has set up 14 projects for discussion, including one addressing income disparity between regular and non-regulator workers.
The scheduled talks in the coming weeks will seek to find compromises on key labor issues. If the discussions go smoothly, an agreement on principles for labor market reform will be reached on Dec. 19, said the commission.
But members of the commission are expected to engage in heated debate on how to resolve the widening disparity between regular and non-regular workers in terms of wages and other working conditions.
Agreement on this issue may not be easily formed because labor groups are calling for more regular jobs while the government is seeking to inject greater flexibility in the labor market.
Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan recently hinted at making it easier to lay off regular workers, saying that businesses are reluctant to employ new full time employees because they have to guarantee employment until retirement age.
The government is also planning to allow companies to change the status of non-regular workers into full time workers after three years of continuous service. Currently, the requirement is two years.
Some committee members on the side of the unions have expressed discontent at such plans, according to one commission official. "So they (the members of the commission) have only decided on topics for discussion, not on how to solve them. The three parties will henceforth seek detailed solutions and compromises."
Besides this issue, the commission will seek ways of enabling mutual growth between large and small companies and between large firms and subcontractors.
Regarding wages and working conditions, the commission will discuss restructuring the ordinary wage system, establishing laws to gradually reduce working hours and improving wage structures in order to extend ages of retirement.
Starting in 2016, both public and private companies will have to observe a retirement age of 60 according to the law, while currently it is 55 and is not obligatory.
"The commission will have to make an agreement on detailed means of how to change wage systems from the current length-of-service basis to performance basis," said the official.
The commission will also discuss ways to improve labor-management relations, develop social security systems to provide more effective support for underprivileged laborers, and prepare more advanced job training programs.
Widespread discrimination against non-regular workers will be a key topic discussed during tripartite talks later this month among representatives of labor, management and the government, officials said Tuesday.
According to the Economic and Social Development Commission, a presidential advisory body on labor issues, it has set up 14 projects for discussion, including one addressing income disparity between regular and non-regulator workers.
The scheduled talks in the coming weeks will seek to find compromises on key labor issues. If the discussions go smoothly, an agreement on principles for labor market reform will be reached on Dec. 19, said the commission.
But members of the commission are expected to engage in heated debate on how to resolve the widening disparity between regular and non-regular workers in terms of wages and other working conditions.
Agreement on this issue may not be easily formed because labor groups are calling for more regular jobs while the government is seeking to inject greater flexibility in the labor market.
Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan recently hinted at making it easier to lay off regular workers, saying that businesses are reluctant to employ new full time employees because they have to guarantee employment until retirement age.
The government is also planning to allow companies to change the status of non-regular workers into full time workers after three years of continuous service. Currently, the requirement is two years.
Some committee members on the side of the unions have expressed discontent at such plans, according to one commission official. "So they (the members of the commission) have only decided on topics for discussion, not on how to solve them. The three parties will henceforth seek detailed solutions and compromises."
Besides this issue, the commission will seek ways of enabling mutual growth between large and small companies and between large firms and subcontractors.
Regarding wages and working conditions, the commission will discuss restructuring the ordinary wage system, establishing laws to gradually reduce working hours and improving wage structures in order to extend ages of retirement.
Starting in 2016, both public and private companies will have to observe a retirement age of 60 according to the law, while currently it is 55 and is not obligatory.
"The commission will have to make an agreement on detailed means of how to change wage systems from the current length-of-service basis to performance basis," said the official.
The commission will also discuss ways to improve labor-management relations, develop social security systems to provide more effective support for underprivileged laborers, and prepare more advanced job training programs.
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