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🇰🇷 South Korea /Economy & Trade

South Korea to Introduce 'Fairness Allowance' for Contract Workers, Tighten Regulations

From Hankyoreh · (5m ago) Korean Positive tone

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • South Korean Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Ki-ho plans to introduce a 'fairness allowance' for short-term contract workers and reduce exceptions allowing indefinite contract employment.
  • The proposed allowance aims to narrow the wage gap between regular and contract employees by providing additional pay for shorter employment durations.
  • The ministry is also reviewing exceptions in the Fixed-term Worker Act, such as those for individuals over 55, to prevent the overuse of contract labor and ensure better protection for these workers.

The Hankyoreh highlights Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Ki-ho's proactive measures to address the widening gap between regular and non-regular workers in South Korea. The introduction of a 'fairness allowance' for short-term contract employees and the planned reduction of exceptions in the Fixed-term Worker Act signal a significant government effort to curb the abuse of contract labor and promote greater job security.

There are cases where we inevitably have to use contract workers. We are discussing with relevant ministries the introduction of a so-called 'fairness allowance' that provides more allowances the more unstable the employment, such as for short-term work.

— Lee Ki-hoMinister Lee explaining the rationale behind the proposed 'fairness allowance' for contract workers.

Minister Lee's explanation of the 'fairness allowance' as a means to compensate for the instability of short-term employment, thereby narrowing the wage disparity, reflects a national discourse increasingly focused on economic inequality. The comparison to similar policies in other regions, like France and Spain, and the mention of President Lee Jae-myung's previous initiative as Gyeonggi Province governor, contextualize this policy within a broader trend of seeking equitable labor practices.

The intention is to narrow the wage gap by adding a little more allowance the shorter the work period.

— Lee Ki-hoMinister Lee elaborating on the purpose of the 'fairness allowance'.

The government's intention to revise the Fixed-term Worker Act by reducing the numerous exceptions that allow for indefinite contract employment, particularly for older workers, underscores a commitment to re-evaluating existing labor laws. The article notes the substantial increase in fixed-term workers, exceeding 5 million, indicating the urgency of these reforms. This move is seen as a crucial step towards ensuring that contract work does not become a permanent, precarious status for a growing segment of the workforce, a concern deeply felt across South Korean society.

There are too many exceptions where fixed-term workers can be employed for more than 2 years without any restrictions. These must be reduced.

— Lee Ki-hoMinister Lee discussing the need to revise the Fixed-term Worker Act.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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