Labor groups are pushing back after the ruling party introduced a special bill on mega-zones, or ultra-wide-area special zones, that includes exemptions from labor rules. For now, the unions plan to stay in social dialogue to get those exemptions stripped out, though the talks ahead are expected to be difficult.
The Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions issued statements on the 20th formally demanding the bill be withdrawn, saying it "contains clauses that roll back labor protections through exemptions." While condemning the bill's introduction, both said they would not walk away from the dialogue framework itself, in order to block the exemption clauses from being legislated unilaterally.
Whether to include labor exemptions in the mega-zone bill has been under discussion since last month in a social dialogue body made up of the government, the two union federations and business groups. The exemptions under consideration would ease the 52-hour workweek cap and extend the period for which companies may employ fixed-term workers. The unions agree on the need to create mega-zones but strongly oppose the labor exemptions. Business groups, by contrast, insist the exemptions must be included.
The ruling party says the bill introduced that day is not the final version. It submitted a separate bill without the labor exemptions and will pursue discussions on both. The party has set no deadline and left open the possibility of revising the legislation depending on the outcome of the social dialogue.
The unions reacted strongly because the bill was introduced before the dialogue reached any conclusion on the exemptions. The KCTU said the talks "have not even begun substantive discussion of the contested issues." The FKTU said the government and the ruling party "are trying to pre-empt the outcome through legislation."
Still, because the unions have not closed the door on dialogue, the chances of an immediate breakdown have receded. The dialogue body, which wrapped up its fifth working-level session that day, agreed to hold a sixth session on the 28th and continue the discussions. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said "the main contents of the ultra-wide-area special zone bill were shared at the meeting."