Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) - Republic of Korea (Ratification: 1997)

Articles 4, 6 and 10 of the Convention. Organization and functions of the system of labour administration and material means allocated. In its previous comments the Committee had welcomed the extension of the functions of the system of labour administration and the substantial increase in the share of the national budget allocated to the labour administration system during the 1999–2005 period. The Committee again notes with satisfaction the information sent by the Government to the effect that the Ministry of Labour was renamed the Ministry of Employment and Labour in July 2010 and extended its operations to include job creation and skills development; in addition, the Ministry’s budget currently represents 4.2 per cent of the total Government budget and has shown a regular increase of 7 per cent per year since 2006. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the priorities established by the Ministry and their impact on, firstly, the national labour policy and the effective operation of the labour administration system. The Government is also requested to send an updated organization chart of the Ministry of Employment and Labour.

Article 7. Extension of the functions of the labour administration to workers who are not employees. In its previous comments the Committee asked the Government to clarify which workers belonged to the “non-standard workforce” category and to indicate the reasons why the issue of the extension of the protection of the labour administration system to these workers, brought before the National Assembly in November 2004, was excluded from the Roadmap for Industrial Relations Reform. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that workers engaged in non-traditional forms of work are not covered by the labour legislation because they are not considered as being in an employment relationship. The Government refers to the examples of golf caddies, private teachers, insurance agents and concrete truck owner-drivers, and adds that the protection of this category of workers is the subject of discussions between representatives of the Government and those of the employers and workers.

In this context, the Committee notes the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 2602 concerning subcontracted workers in the metallurgical industry who, because of their status, are deprived of the legal protection established by the Trade Union and Labour Relations Adjustment Act (TULRAA) [see 359th Report of the Committee, paragraphs 342–370]. This case is concerned with “illegal dispatch”, a form of false subcontracting which disguises the existence of an employment relationship. The Committee notes with interest in this regard, the decision of the Supreme Court of 22 July 2010, which considered that anyone who has worked for more than two consecutive years in a factory is not subcontracted but “illegally dispatched” and therefore must be considered as a worker directly employed by the enterprise. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide details of the categories and number of workers engaged in non traditional forms of work (“non-standard workforce”) and also on any measures taken or contemplated, to favour, in the light of the abovementioned Supreme Court decision, the progressive extension of the protection of the labour administration system to categories of workers who are not, in law, employed persons.

Part VI of the report form. The Government indicates that it has not received any comments from the employers’ and workers’ organizations further to sending them its report. The Committee again requests the Government to indicate any observations made by the employers’ and workers’ organizations within the tripartite labour administration bodies, or, if applicable, in other contexts, regarding the application in practice of the provisions of the Convention or the application of legislative or other measures giving effect to the provisions of the Convention, and also any remark on such observations that the Government considers relevant.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.