By Kim Jae-won
More than nine in 10 salaried workers are supportive of a bill proposing workers be granted another holiday when a national holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, a survey showed Sunday.
Saramin, an online recruiter, said 94 percent of respondents said lawmakers should approve the “alternative holiday bill” in the survey conducted by the company on 999 employees in the country between April 16 and 25.
“Six out of 10 respondents expected ‘alternative holidays’ would boost their quality of life while 40 percent of them said the holidays would help them focus on their jobs more efficiently,” said the company.
Asked how they would spend the days off, about a quarter of the employees said they would rest. Twenty-one percent said they would take trips, followed by 19 percent who wanted to spend more time with their families. The others said they would study or enjoy hobbies.
The survey result came two days after the nation’s five major employer groups announced their opposition to the bill, pressuring lawmakers not to approve it. They argued that, if the bill is passed, it would cool business sentiment seriously.
Five economic organizations, including the Federation of Korean Industries, issued a joint statement Friday, which read, “Obligating companies to guarantee employers’ alternative holidays and setting the retirement age at 60 will render it difficult to hire new recruits.”
Last week, lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties at a subcommittee of the National Assembly agreed to seek approval of the bill at the plenary session, reigniting the debate on alternative holidays.
However, pressured by the business groups, they decided to postpone putting the bill to a vote until later in September. The bill needs to be approved in the committee and the plenary session before going into effect as a law.
Both the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party said they will announce their position on alternative holidays today.