Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said on the 26th that he would introduce a "fair allowance," an additional payment for short-term workers.
The Minister appeared on KBS1 "Sunday Diagnosis Live" the same day and said, "Relevant ministries are discussing a tentative fair allowance that would pay a bit more to those whose employment is more unstable because they work for a short period," adding, "We plan to announce specific measures soon." The intent is to pay more allowances to workers with unstable employment.
The Minister agreed with the criticism that limiting the term of non-regular workers to two years under current law has led to a proliferation of 1-year-11-month jobs. He then said the Economic, Social and Labor Council would discuss countermeasures. The Minister said, "If the government presents guidelines first, it could be misunderstood as the government using social dialogue as a tool." He added, "It is more desirable to find a solution by combining proposals from management, labor, and experts."
Regarding the Cargo Solidarity's demand to negotiate with BGF Retail, which operates the CU convenience store chain, he said the Cargo Solidarity should be regarded as workers. The Minister said, "Even if they are self-employed in form, if they are in a substantively economically dependent relationship, they should be regarded as workers."
On the 20th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said regarding the death of one person in an accident while the Cargo Solidarity was demanding talks with CU that it would "seek ways for small business owners and the self-employed to engage in dialogue and communication with stakeholders to protect their own rights and interests." Because of this, some interpreted the ministry as defining truck drivers as small business owners or the self-employed, not as workers.
On this, the Minister said, "Misunderstandings arose in the process of explaining the perception that this accident happened because of the yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers." He meant he did not categorically say the Cargo Solidarity is not a labor union. Regarding the Samsung Electronics union strike, he said, "While recognizing workers' contributions, autonomous labor-management talks are needed that take into account all stakeholders, including partner companies and small shareholders."