The economic community expressed regret as the 'yellow envelope law (amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act)' passed the National Assembly plenary session on the morning of the 24th.
The six economic organizations, including the Korea Enterprises Federation, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, The Federation of Korean Industries, Korea International Trade Association, Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, and Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea (FOMEK), issued a statement that said, "We express our regret over the passage of the yellow envelope law, which expands the scope of employers and the concept of labor disputes while limiting liability for damages due to illegal labor disputes."
The six economic organizations emphasized, "Although the recent amendments to the Trade Union Act have expanded the scope of employers and the concept of labor disputes, it is unclear who constitutes an employer under the Trade Union Act and to what extent business decisions can be considered the subject of labor disputes, leading to potential legal disputes between labor and management in the future."
They added, "The National Assembly needs to clarify the scope of employers and the concept of labor disputes through supplementary legislation to minimize confusion in industrial sites," and claimed, "The government should closely communicate with the economic community during the grace period to adequately implement supplementary measures."
The six economic organizations also stated, "We hope that the right of employers to defend themselves, which is guaranteed in major developed countries such as the allowance for alternative labor according to global standards, will be legislated to balance labor-management relations," and noted, "The economic community will make every effort to advance the labor market and establish cooperative labor-management relations."