The labor-government consultative body between the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) was launched on the 11th. This is the first time the KCTU and the government are running a regular consultative body. Earlier, the consultative body between the ministry and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions was launched on the 9th. On the 24th, the ministry and KEF also plan to launch a consultative body.
According to the ministry on the 11th, Lee Yang-su, vice chair of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), met with Kwon Chang-jun, Vice Minister of the ministry, at the Seoul Regional Office of Employment and Labor on Tuesday morning to formalize the launch of the labor-government consultative body.
The labor-government consultative body is a forum to exchange broad views with labor, a direct stakeholder in labor policy, on major labor policies. The goal is to craft policies with strong on-the-ground fit and policy acceptance.
The KCTU labor-government consultative body will be run mainly through a working-level consultative body that meets monthly, attended by the director general for labor policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) and the KCTU policy planning director, among others. In addition, a deputy representative-level operating council and subcommittees will be held quarterly.
In opening remarks, Lee Yang-su, vice chair of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), said, "Korean workers face new challenges not only from changes in the external environment but also from shifts in employment and forms of work due to industrial transition and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI)," adding, "To address these tasks, the fundamental labor rights of all workers and the right to unionize must be guaranteed through principal-subcontractor bargaining and supra-enterprise bargaining."
Lee added, "From the presidential election process onward, the government and the ruling party pledged to strengthen occupational safety, adjust the time-off system, require financial disclosures, extend the retirement age, and guarantee the political basic rights of teachers and public officials, and these must be carried out."
Vice Minister Kwon Chang-jun of the ministry said, "It is the first time we have a structure to regularly meet with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) to discuss labor policy," adding, "Through the operating council, we intend to hear voices from worksites on industrial transition and the low birthrate and aging issues, and reflect them in policy."