[뉴스분석]Moon Jae-in’s government as counselor of hope for ‘respect for work’

The Law of Severe Punishment for Disasters is approved ‘Today’s plenary session’

Withdrawal of the party government, the opposition party and the financial world
Reform and preparation of the prosecution service

Regular address, minimum wage, etc. Yongdusami
There is no ‘strong philosophy and direction’ related to work

In addition, the Democratic Party and the power of the people finally agreed on a proposal to enact the sanction law for companies with serious disasters. The bill, which will be approved by the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 8th, has a hole. Proposals proposed by families and the labor community on workplace accidents were cut once in government and again in the agreement between the opposition parties. The intensity of the punishment and the amount of the fines were reduced, the scope of responsibility of the company was reduced and the subject of the law was reduced. Companies with less than 5 employees are not subject to the law. Enforcement of the law in workplaces with 5 to 49 employees was postponed for three years. 80% of deaths from industrial accidents occur in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. The purpose of the law is to eradicate major disasters.

The Severe Disaster Act is the presidential election promise of President Moon Jae-in, who advocated for a society that respects work. This is not the first time that the current government’s labor policy has stopped at Yongdusami.

In May 2017, right after taking office, President Moon met with non-regular workers at Incheon International Airport and declared the ‘era of zero irregular workers.’ Since then, the regularization of non-permanent workers in the public sector has been promoted, but most of them were hired as permanent workers in subsidiaries. Only the form changed, but the embers of the conflict remained. A representative example is the case of the fare payer for the Korea Expressway Corporation, which has had a dispute over the hiring of a subsidiary. Spreading the private sector for a regular direction, which was the goal, has no results.

The government advocated for revenue-driven growth. In that extension the minimum wage was raised. However, the minimum wage, which rose by double digits in the first and second year in office, registered the smallest increase (1.5%) last year. The ruling and opposition parties expanded the scope of the 2018 minimum wage. By putting meals, etc., that were not included in the minimum wage in the minimum wage, the real minimum wage was lowered. The ruling party handled an amendment to the trade union law that partially reflected demands from the business community last month for ratification of the International Labor Organization (ILO) basic convention, a promise for presidential elections. However, the ratification of the convention has stopped in the National Assembly.

The attitude of the government and the ruling party towards labor laws is different from that of the reform project of the prosecution service. The Democratic Party pushed for the enactment of the High-Level Officials Criminal Investigations Act, breaking with opposition opposition. However, compared to the Labor Law, it emphasizes the handling of agreements between the parties. On the 24th of last month, the leader of the Democratic Party, Kim Tae-nyeon, met with Kim Mi-sook, the late mother of the late Kim Yong-gyun, who is on a fasting campaign in the National Assembly. When CEO Kim said, “The opposition party rejects the deliberation of the (Severe Disaster Law), it is a bad condition.” This is a question that gives an idea of ​​the nature of the behavior of the passport in relation to work.

The enactment and amendment of labor laws is a matter in which the interests of workers and management clash sharply. There is also an objection that the government and the ruling party in charge of state administration should also consider the position of the business community. Furthermore, as the economic environment deteriorated due to the Corona 19 incident, the voices of corporations increased.

However, it is pointed out that the fundamental cause is the lack of a philosophy and firm direction of the government and the ruling party on the labor issue. In response to the growing demands of citizens on the stage of the presidential elections fought by the protests by candlelight, they made many unconventional job promises. Don-Moon Jo, professor emeritus at the Catholic University, said: “It is a problem to consider the basic labor rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the laws as an object of exchange, not a question of rights.”