Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said on the 26th that he would introduce an additional allowance for short-term workers called "fair allowance."
The Minister appeared on KBS1 "Sunday Diagnosis Live" and said, "The 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 give more allowance to workers with unstable employment.
The Minister agreed with the criticism that "because the current law limits the term for non-regular workers to two years, 1-year-11-month jobs are proliferating." He then said the Economic, Social and Labor Council would discuss countermeasures. The Minister said, "If the government first presents guidelines, it could be misunderstood as the government using social dialogue as a tool." He added, "It is more desirable to combine proposals from management, labor, and experts to find a solution."
Regarding the Cargo Solidarity's demand for negotiations with BGF Retail, which operates the convenience store CU, he said the Cargo Solidarity should be viewed 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 negotiations with CU that it would "seek ways for small business owners and the self-employed to communicate and engage in dialogue with stakeholders to protect their own rights and interests." Because of this, some interpreted the ministry as defining truck drivers not as workers but as small business owners and the self-employed.
On this, the Minister said, "Misunderstanding arose in the process of explaining the perception that the recent accident occurred 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. On the Samsung Electronics union strike, he said, "While recognizing workers' contributions, autonomous labor-management talks that consider all stakeholders, including partner firms and small shareholders, are needed."