General understanding on Korean industrial relations

1
General understanding on Korean industrial
relations

• August 2005
• reported by Joung, Kyoung Eun

2
Korea has...

• Been located in the end of north-east Asia.
• Got about 22-31C in summer and minus 9-0C in
  winter in temperature.
• Got about 45 m. in population.
• Capital Seoul
• Been divided into two countries after liberation.
• Quickly industrialised during 70-80s. And, main
  staples are cars, mobile phones, semiconductors
  and so on.
• has the highest broadband internet penetration
  rate in the world.
• Financial crisis has occurred at the end of 1997.
  

3
Economic Background 1

• Economy in 2005 would be recession
• GDP growth in 1987-1996 over 5
• GDP growth in 2005 4
• Inflation in 2005 3
• Unemployment rate 3

4
Economic Background 2

• Pay distribution has been worsen
• Pay distribution rates flows 61.9 in 1998,
  59.7 in 2003
• Labours/jobs flows 61.7 in 1998, 65.1 in 2003
• Gini Coefficient 0.283 in 1997, 0.3 since 1998

5
Economic Background 3

• Actual Pay increase rates is under Productivity
• Actual Pay increase rates 2.2 in 2000, 3.6 in
  2003
• Productivity 9.2 in 2000, 8.2 in 2003
• Value added 8.6 in 2000, 9.0 in 2003

6
Political Background

• Constitutional democracy
• Been ruled by military dictatorship from 60-80s.
• Democratized since 1987 following great
  mobilization of people.
• President serves only once for five year by
  direct election.
• Anti socialist law still exists, which was the
  main method to repress student movement and
  labour movement.
• Mainly conservative 2 parties ruling system, the
  biggest opposite party(ultra conservative) ruled
  by 1997.
• Labour party(KDLP) has been founded since 2000
  and it finally has got 10 seats of the parliament
  in general election of 2004.
• KDLP is strongly supported by KCTU.

7
Trade Unions

• union density 12
• its peak point is over 19 in 1991 and after that
  it goes down
• members about 1,700,000
• basic structure enterprise based union system
• 2 national centres KCTU and FKTU
• 45 industrial union(federation) and over 1,800
  enterprise union

8
KCTU

• has been built in 1995
• members 680,000 in 2002
• 17 affiliates and 15 regional branches
• decision-making structure annual conference in
  January, general conference in a half of year,
  executive committee meeting every months.
• represents autonomous, democratic and militant
  trade unionism.
• Lee, Su-ho, new president has been elected in the
  annual conference in 2004 and his strategy in
  industrial relations is to build new social
  dialogue system.

9
KCTUs objectives in 2005 are

• to abolish to discrimination against irregular
  workers and their job security.
• to defend the government attempts to
  retrogressively revise labour laws and to set
  equal industrial relationship.
• to change its structure to industry based union
  system and to strengthen its capacity.
• to develop its solidarity with civil movements on
  anti-us, anti-globalisaion, anti-new liberalism.
• to evolve to reform social safety nets.
• to stimulate reunification movement and relation
  with KDLP.
• to strengthen its representation in relation with
  the government and employers and to begin to make
  its long term strategy.

10
Breakdown of tripartism

• Tripartite committee has started since the early
  1999 to solve economic and social problems which
  are prospected their expansion after financial
  crisis.
• After that, the first social consensus was made
  on employment and industrial policy in fev, 1999
  that means adoption of procedure of redundancy
  and lay-off by the trade union.
• The consensus was rejected by the annual
  conference of KCTU and under that result all
  leadership of KCTU was resigned.
• Government accepted its resolution on redundancy
  policy very quickly but never legislated on
  labour law which expands trade union rights.
  Besides, tripartite committee was go-stop,
  go-stop repeatedly. And finally KCTU has been
  decided its non-participation to tripartite
  committee.
• FKTU has been also decided its non-participation
  in 2005 following the industrial relationship has
  been worsen.

11
Threats to TU

• increase of scale of irregular workers and of
  discrimination on pay and social securities they
  have been taken
• new liberal government is trying to
  retrogressively revise the labour law which is
  understood as deregulation of the procedure on
  redundancy and expansion of irregular workers.
• Although KCTUs basic strategy is to change its
  affiliates to industrial union system, collective
  bargaining in industrial level has its
  vulnerability and difficulties for settlement.
• trade unionists in grass-root level are weaken
  and the fact that TU movement highly depends on
  large sized enterprise union.

12
Resolution

• Economy in 2005 is going to recession.
• -Politics are ruled by two major conservative
  parties.
• -Industrial relationship is unstable following
  the governments attempt to retrogressively
  revise on labour law and breakdown of tripartism.