Kim Young-hoon, Minister of Employment and Labor (MOEL), said on the 13th that he proposes establishing a "K-Labor Chamber" so that diverse working people can live together.
The Minister said at the "National Fiscal Strategy Meeting" chaired by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House that this is the first step to expand the social safety net, built around traditional employment relationships, into a social safety mat for all working people. The K-Labor Chamber is an institution that protects the rights and interests of workers who do not belong to labor unions. Kim's plan is to enact the "Basic Act on the Rights of Working People," which centers on guaranteeing the rights of all providers of labor, including platform workers such as delivery drivers and freelancers, and then establish the K-Labor Chamber based on it.
President Lee asked the Minister, isn't there disagreement about the Labor Chamber, noting that labor circles might not be persuaded. In response, the Minister said it was true there had been disagreement that creating a Labor Chamber could, conversely, lower unionization rates. He added that various forms of atypical workers are emerging that cannot be explained by existing employment relationships and that it would not be easy to organize them into traditional unions.
The Minister said that if the current "Worker Welfare Support Act" were changed to the "Labor Welfare Support Act," a delivery system (through the K-Labor Chamber, etc.) would be needed even for people outside traditional employment relationships. He added that he would communicate and cooperate sufficiently with labor circles to establish the K-Labor Chamber.
That day, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said it would allow atypical labor providers, including delivery drivers, to receive social insurance benefits. To that end, it plans to expand employment and industrial accident insurance coverage to 1.6 million personal service income earners who provide personal services without an employment relationship.