The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korea Employers Federation (KEF) reached an agreement on working together to overcome the current economic crisis and proposed to have a social dialogue meeting for emergency measures to discuss employment security measures.
FKTU President Mr. Jang Seok-Chun and KEF Chairman Mr. Lee Soo-Young held a press conference at Korea Press Center in Seoul yesterday (Jan. 22) and announced “We propose to hold a ‘national social dialogue meeting for emergency measures’ to overcome the economic crisis in which labor, employers, government, civic and social groups, academia, and religious groups participate.”
Included in the invitees of the proposal for the ‘national social dialogue meeting for emergency measures’ were the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the Ministry of Labour (MOL), five major business associations (FKI, KCCI, KITA, KEF, KBiz), civic and social groups, the religious community, and the academia. In early February, representatives of each organization will meet and launch the council.
After collecting opinions by having grand discussions in which labor, employers, government and civic society participate, they plan to map out a social pact on a grand compromise in late February.
The council will use the Economic and Social Development Commission (ESDC) as the base organization for pursuing the compromise and will come up with employment security measures through maintaining and sharing jobs. The emergency meeting will discuss extending social security net for more protection of the unemployed and the socially disadvantaged, spreading out the social agreement, and the government’s support measures, so that the meeting will serve as a driving engine for overcoming the economic crisis and realizing employment security.
At the press conference, the heads of workers and employers’ organizations said, “As the economic recession drags its feet across all industries, we expect difficulties severer than those in 1997. Creating jobs and establishing a reliable social security net for the socially disadvantaged will be possible only when every member of our society works together in the same will and intention.”
The government and the ruling party welcomed the proposal for the national social dialogue meeting.
MOL said, “We wholeheartedly welcome the proposal made by FKTU and KEF to make a joint effort to revive the economy and overcome the current crisis by accomplishing employment security. The Ministry of Labor will also do its best to support their efforts to share the pain for harmonious coexistence.”
The floor leader of the ruling Grand National Party Mr. Hong Joon-Pyo made a similar proposal in last October during his representative speech in the National Assembly. At that time, Rep. Hong proposed to have a grand social compromise among labor, management and the government for overcoming the economic crisis and to form a ‘national council’ as a working organization to pursue such a compromise.
Back in February 1998, immediately after the financial crisis was occurred, representatives of tripartite bodies adopted a social agreement to overcome then economic crisis. The agreement turned out to be a great catalyst for the economic revitalization, which brings out growing expects on the role of the national social dialogue meeting to be made.
However, KCTU, which has not abated its harsh stance against the Lee administration since President Lee was inaugurated, is rejecting playing the second fiddle to others in coming up with the social compromise as they regard it just as empty rhetoric and has expressed that it won’t join the meeting, making how this proposal will develop remain to be seen.
