In addition, the Democratic Party has been driving pro-labor legislation since the beginning of the year. At the end of last year, it passed a labor law that allowed the dismissed and unemployed to join the labor union, and this time, it has stepped into a legislation to expand the application of the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees. The business community is protesting that it is a bill that promotes small business owners and self-employed persons at the edge of the cliff due to the Corona 19 crisis.
According to the National Assembly Agenda Information System on the 16th, Democratic Party lawmakers Yoon Jun-byung, Lee Soo-jin, and Justice Party lawmakers Kang Eun-mi, respectively, proposed an expanded amendment to the application of the Labor Standards Act, pending the National Assembly’s Environmental Labor Committee. Rep. Yoon’s Ahn said that workplaces with fewer than five employees are subject to the Labor Standards Act on restrictions on dismissal due to management reasons, allowances for suspension of work, working hours and vacations, and employment rules. The lawmaker’s proposal also expanded the scope of the application of the ban on harassment in the workplace, a request for relief from unfair dismissal, priority re-employment, and written notice of the reason for dismissal. The draft of the lecture hall contained the content requiring that all the provisions of the Labor Standards Act be applied to workplaces with fewer than 5 employees.
The Democratic Party also proposed a related amendment in the past 20th National Assembly, but it could not be dealt with as realistic problems emerged. However, this time, members of the People’s Strength are also in favor of expanding the application of the Labor Standards Act, increasing the possibility of amendment of the law. Members of the People’s Strength Environment and Labor Committee issued a statement in December last year and said, “I agree with the application of the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees in order to form a labor law order that meets the constitutional values.”
As of last year, there are an estimated 3.2 million workplaces with fewer than 5 employees. The number of related workers is about 8.2 million, which is 40% of all workers. It is pointed out that most of these small workplaces will be mass-produced only by criminals if the standards of the Labor Standards Act are put in place. There are also concerns that small business owners and self-employed workers who fail to comply with the Labor Standards Act will fire workers in large quantities. “If the Labor Standards Act is applied to workplaces with fewer than 5 employees, there is no hope for self-employed,” said Gye Sang-hyuk, head of the National Convenience Store Association. “There is a greater disaster than Corona.” Lee Seon-Shim, chairman of the Korea Beauty Association, said, “PC cafes, convenience stores, and beauty salons, which have a lot of overtime work, cannot bear the wage burden and have no choice but to become a criminal or leave the business.”
Due to the nature of small businesses, there is also a problem that it is difficult to supervise the government in reality, as businesses open and close frequently. For this reason, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which is a competent ministry, is also cautious about the revision of the law. Since October last year, the Ministry of Employment has been investigating the working conditions of workplaces with fewer than five employees. The survey is scheduled until June. Although annual leave is not applied to workplaces with less than 5 employees, it is a survey that examines how much it is actually used. A government official said, “Based on the results of the survey, it is a task to be comprehensively reviewed in consideration of socio-economic ripple effects, etc.,” and “the current administrative power has limitations in expanding the application of the Labor Standards Act, so it is desirable to gradually expand it through social discussions.” Said.
Reporter Dowon Lim/Seunghyun Baek [email protected]
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