Labor activists say Ministry of Labor has become the “Ministry of Employers”

Posted on : 2013-10-26 16:41 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Government’s recent decision to revoke a large union’s legal status presages an even darker age for labor relations
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By Lee Jung-gook, staff reporter

“I feel like it’s not the Ministry of Employment anymore, but the Ministry of Employers.”

This was one of the many critical statements made by labor activists after the Ministry of Employment and Labor revoked the legal status of the Korea Teachers’ and Education Workers' Union (KTU) on Oct. 24.

“The Ministry of Employers” is a sarcastic term that labor activists used to refer to the Ministry of Labor during the 1980s. The term implies that the ministry only represents the interests of employers, and not of the employed.

Labor advocates argue that the move is a result of the ministry forgetting that it is supposed to work for the rights of workers. They even suggest that the ministry may have outlived its usefulness.

According to the Government Organization Act and the Enforcement Order for Organizing the Ministry of Employment and Labor and Its Affiliated Agencies, which is the legal basis for the establishment of the ministry, the ministry is supposed to carry out its duties to defend the interests of laborers.

These duties include setting standards for working conditions, providing welfare for workers, mediating between labor and management, and encouraging cooperation between labor and management.

But by deciding to strip 60,000 union members of their right to association simply because nine of those members had been dismissed from their jobs, the ministry has instead taken the lead in oppressing labor unions.

“The role of the Ministry of Employment is to be in the vanguard of reforming laws like the Teachers’ Union Act and the Labor Union Act that threaten the three fundamental rights of laborers,” said Yun Ji-yeong, a lawyer with Human Rights Legal Foundation GongGam. “Instead, the ministry is employing these laws to trample on the activity of labor unions. In a word, the ministry is abdicating its own responsibilities.”

“This is not just about the KTU,” Yun said. “This decision reveals how the ministry views all labor unions.”

The ministry is facing harsh criticism for stripping a properly organized labor union of its legal status instead of encouraging the establishment of more labor unions.

This is especially relevant, critics point out, since South Korea is still behind the times when it comes to labor. The labor organization rate in South Korea remains around 10%, meaning that nine out of ten workers in Korea do not receive the protection of a labor union.

Korea’s labor organization rate in 2011 was 9.9%, placing it near the bottom among members of the OECD. The countries that are below it are Estonia, Turkey, and France.

In France, the labor organization rate is 7.8%. However, this country has a unique system in which labor unions are so strong in each industry that most workers receive the benefits of labor agreements even if they themselves are not union members. As a result, the situation in France is not comparable with Korea.

“It is the responsibility of the Ministry of Employment to make the conditions for forming a labor union more flexible in order to increase the labor organization rate,” said Kim Eun-gi, policy director for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). “The ministry ought to be different from other government ministries. If it takes the lead in oppressing unions, it is guilty of ignoring its responsibilities.”

“If the Ministry of Employment and Labor does no more than rigidly enforce the laws on the books without trying to fix the laws that do not meet international standards, there is little chance that labor relations will improve,” said Lee Ho-geun, professor of the law school at Chonbuk National University.

The KTU is also receiving expressions of support from other sectors of society.

It came as something of a surprise when the Jogye Order of Buddhism, which ordinarily has shown little interest in labor issues, released a statement about the ministry’s decision. Issued by the order’s labor committee on Oct. 25, the statement said, “The government’s decision to strip the KTU of its status will go down in history as a major disgrace. Labor unions must not be viewed as a target for repression but rather as a partner for dialogue and coexistence. Bullying a union into submission through one-sided legal judgments without a sincere attempt at dialogue or persuasion is no way to govern a country.”

For its part, the KTU is planning to keep making appeals to the international community regarding the injustice of the government’s decision to strip it of its legal status.

To begin with, the union intends to take emergency action at the meeting of the board of directors of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, which will be taking place at the Walker Hill Hotel in the Gwangjang neighborhood of Seoul beginning on Oct. 27. It will call upon South Korea to carry out its international responsibilities as a member of the OECD.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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