Overwatch and Solidarity for the Protection of Labour Rights

#TemporaryPositionWorkers #MinimumWages #LabourSupervision #SamsungDestroysLabourUnion

Monitoring the Labour Administration

The PSPD carried out monitoring activities on the everyday labour administration, the administration of labour supervision over the basic protection of the right to work, and the budget of the Ministry of Employment and Labour. As a part of the monitoring, the PSPD published a position paper on the labour supervision analysis related to the violation of working hours and the 2019 budget of the Ministry of Employment and Labour. Additionally, the PSPD submitted another position paper on the work of the Administrative Reform Committee of the Ministry of Employment and Labour, an organization created to liquidate the evils of the previous administration. 

Continuation of Solidarity Activities on the Problems Surrounding Temporary Position Workers

In the spirit of solidarity, the PSPD actively worked in conjunction with the Paris Baguette bakers labour union and the delivery service labour union to prioritize a resolution to the problems surrounding temporary position and vulnerable social group workers, which is the main cause of polarization in Korean society. The PSPD held various press conferences and debates, among actively raising awareness, in order to resolve the illegal subcontracting of bakers by Paris Baguette and contributed greatly to the creation of the agreement between the labour and management of Paris Baguette.

Opposing the Motion to Table the Shortening Working Hours Bill; Advocating for the Fairness Between Contractors and Subcontractors for the Protection of Minimum Wages 

The Republic of Korea is a nation with long working hours. Koreans work around 300 hours more than the average working hours of all OECD member states. In 2018, despite this situation, the Moon Jae-in administration capped the weekly working hours to 52 hours per week, a welcoming sight. However, the parliament started the debate on the expansion of flexible working hours, which conflicts with the policy of shortening working hours, and the PSPD actively participated in correspondence activities to protest the promotion of the conflicting agenda by parliament. In an effort to clearly distinguish the issues surrounding increases in minimum wages and the delay of wage payments to outsourcing companies, the PSPD carried out activities advocating for a payment adjustment system between contractors and subcontractors.

Main Activities

•01/31 [Panel Disscussion] Uncovering the Reality of Subcontracting and Resolving the Issues Through Paris Baguette Illegal Subcontracting Case

•04/23 [Accusation] Accusation of Lee Gun-Hee and 39 Related Executives for the Abolition of Samsung Labour Union 

•04/23 [Panel Disscussion] Activation Plan for Subcontracting Payment Adjustment System in Preparation for the W10,000 Minimum Wage Era

•08/29 [Issue Report] Presentation of the Report on the Labour Supervision Analysis of Working Hours 

•09/18 [Position Paper] Presentation of Position Paper on the Amendment Decree of the Minimum Wage Law

•11/13 [Position Paper] Presentation of Position Paper on the 2019 Budget of the Ministry of Employment and Labour

•11/19 [Press Conference] Advocating for the Halting of Flexible Working Hours

•12/05 [Panel Disscussion] Seeking Ways to Change the Korea Employer’s Federation to Build Fair Labour-Management Relations

•12/21 [Press Release] Document Release on the Advocation of Evaluating and Passing of the Industrial Safety and Health Act Amendment Bill