Unions and civic organizations unite to promote welfare state

Posted on : 2011-07-15 14:35 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Their ‘comprehensive future vision’ contrasts to past welfare initiatives that were largely issue-based

By Song Chae Kyung-hwa
  
A new, large-scale organization of civic and social groups in various fields is emerging behind the common goal of a welfare state.
Speaking at the Press Center on Taepyeongno Road in Seoul’s Central District on Thursday, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), and other groups announced a ceremony on July 20 to mark the launch of a preparatory committee for an organization tentatively titled “Civil Society Conference for the Realization of a Welfare State.”
PSPD Deputy Secretary General Park Won-suk said, “Recently, there has been a lot of discussion from politicians and other people about the welfare state, but there has not been enough popular momentum.”
“Labor sector representatives such as the KCTU and FKTU met with civic and social organizations to devise a mid and long-term vision, and an agreement was reached to establish a large-scale organization for its consistent pursuit,” Park explained.
The conference will include the participation not only of the two labor federations but also women’s rights, farmers’ rights, and environmental groups, the Korean Teachers’ and Education Workers’ Union (KTU, Jeon Gyo Jo) and education groups, and regional grass-roots organizations, among others. Around 500 groups are represented in the current preparatory committee, with a target set for participation from over 2,500 going ahead.
While different areas of civil society have joined forces in the past on issues such as free school lunches and the irregular worker issue, the establishment of a large organization working for the “comprehensive future vision” of a welfare state is unusual.
The groups participating are highlighting clear differences from other welfare state campaigns such as Welfare State Society and Million People’s Order.
Park explained, “The establishment movements have the main goals of political party integration and political alliances, but this organization plans to work toward setting a welfare agenda from the bottom up and responding in concert to the various issues at the level of civil society, rather than getting involved in political alliances.”
Kkottongnae University Social Welfare Studies Professor Lee Tae-su said, “It is meaningful that a large umbrella is being created that reconfigures the history and traditions of individual organizations that have worked in various areas in the past with the identity of welfare services.”
The organization first plans to formulate a five-year plan for a South Korean welfare state through discussions with participating groups. Plans were also established to develop economic and social policy goals, directions, and key tasks for a welfare state and revisions to the tax system, which it will ask the next administration to reflect. Additionally, ten agenda items were established, including measures to address unfair transaction practices between large corporations and SMEs, and reductions in the use of temporary workers and the elimination of discrimination against them.
 
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