Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) held a "SME Roundtable on the Amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act" at the Korea Federation of SMEs on Monday, the 22nd. This meeting was organized to directly hear concerns and suggestions from the industry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, to ensure a soft landing for the revised Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (Trade Union Act), scheduled to take effect in March of next year.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of SMEs and Startups, the Director General of Labor-Management Cooperation Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, representatives of small and medium-sized enterprise associations and organizations, industry-specific cooperatives, and experts from academia. The meeting was held in the order of expert presentations on the amendment to the Trade Union Act and open discussions by industry.
Professor Jeong Heung-jun of Seoul National University of Science and Technology, who participated as a presenter, provided a detailed explanation of the major revisions, including ▲ expanding the scope of employers (Article 2, Paragraph 2), ▲ expanding the scope of labor disputes (Article 2, Paragraph 5), and ▲ limiting claims for damages (Article 3). He then emphasized the need for specific standards and a revised manual, as the prime contractor's negotiating responsibility in the prime-subcontracting relationship may increase.
During the discussion, industry representatives presented various opinions for the speedy establishment of the system.
Song Byeong-jun, chairman of the Korea Venture Business Association, suggested, “During the remaining period until the revised law takes effect, we need to prepare customized guidelines, and ventures and startups need to strengthen their capabilities to respond to labor-management disputes.” Kim Myeong-jin, chairman of the Main Biz Association, said, “In the case of service companies with complex contract structures, the scope of users is unclear, which is a concern for confusion in the field,” and proposed, “Please ensure that these industry characteristics are reflected in the manual production process.”
Kwak In-hak, chairman of the Korea Metal Panel Industry Cooperative, requested, “Please put in place protective measures to prevent the bargaining power of subcontractors from being weakened during the negotiation process between the general contractor and the union.”
Regarding this, Minister Han Seong-sook stated, “We will carefully review the opinions received from the field today and work closely with the Ministry of Labor to minimize difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises during the implementation of the system.” She added, “The government will actively support small and medium-sized enterprises so that they are not discouraged by changes in the system, but rather lead to the establishment of sound labor-management relations and the development of the industrial ecosystem.”
He continued, “We will sufficiently collect opinions from the field during the remaining six months until the law takes effect to ensure that the system can be implemented smoothly and without confusion,” and asked, “I hope that small and medium-sized businesses will use the Ministry of SMEs and Startups as a communication channel at any time.”
Based on the opinions raised at this meeting, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to work with the Ministry of Labor to develop specific manuals and guidelines, provide customized consulting and training, and minimize uncertainty and burden on the ground during the initial implementation of the law.
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