Korea - Global Employment Law http://www.globalemploymentlaw.com/regions/asia-pacific/korea/ International Labor & Employment News, Updates & Commentary en-us Copyright 2012 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 07:12:17 -0800 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:24:49 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=4.24-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Significant Amendments to Impending Korea Industrial Relations Laws On 1 January 2010, the Korean National Assembly passed a Bill significantly affecting labour unions and employers with unionised workforces. The Bill also sets out the timetable for implementation in 2010 and 2011.

The provisions, which were strongly opposed by unions 13 years ago, deal with:

  1. prohibiting employers from paying remuneration to full-time union officials (currently this is permitted); and
  2. giving legal permission for multiple unions to be established at a single worksite (currently each enterprise may legally only have one trade union).

To read more about this development, click here.

Contributors:  George Cooper, Partner, and Celia Yuen, Senior Associate

]]> http://www.globalemploymentlaw.com/2010/07/regions/asia-pacific/korea/significant-amendments-to-impending-korea-industrial-relations-laws/ http://www.globalemploymentlaw.com/2010/07/regions/asia-pacific/korea/significant-amendments-to-impending-korea-industrial-relations-laws/ KoreaRepresentation of workers Mon, 12 Jul 2010 07:12:17 -0800 Freehills Strong Opposition from Korean Unions to Proposed Implementation of Laws Korean Labour Minister Yim Tae-hee recently announced that the government intends to give effect to legal provisions with a significant effect on labour unions and employers with unionised workforces in early 2010.

The provisions set to take effect in 2010 deal with:

  • prohibiting employers from paying remuneration to full-time union officials, and
  • giving legal permission for multiple unions to be established at a single worksite (currently each enterprise may legally only have one trade union).
]]>These provisions were in fact enacted in 1996, but have not yet been put into effect, due to strong union opposition. It remains to be seen what form the final provisions to be implemented will take, and in particular whether they will include allowing a single negotiation channel for multiple unions at an individual enterprise.

The lead up to the implementation of the provisions is likely to be a difficult time for employers in Korea with unionised workforces. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions has indicated its intention to call a general strike in protest against implementation of the provisions.

Employers will also need to prepare themselves for the provisions coming into effect, including:

  • Ensuring that any current practice of remunerating full-time union officials ceases upon the law coming into effect; and
  • Putting in place a strategy to plan for the possibility that multiple unions may seek to represent employees on site, and adapting bargaining strategies to take account of this change.

This entry was written by Celia Yuen, Singapore.

]]> http://www.globalemploymentlaw.com/2009/11/regions/asia-pacific/korea/strong-opposition-from-korean-unions-to-proposed-implementation-of-laws/ http://www.globalemploymentlaw.com/2009/11/regions/asia-pacific/korea/strong-opposition-from-korean-unions-to-proposed-implementation-of-laws/ Government policies and proposalsKoreaRepresentation of workers Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:54:57 -0800 Freehills