The National Human Rights Commission of Korea(Chairperson Hyun Byungchul), at the 9th Plenary Committee, decided to express opinion to the Minister of Employment and Labor to better protect employment security and labor rights of non-regular workers in carrying out the Comprehensive Measures for Non-regular Workers proposed by the government.
The NHRCK positively values purpose of the Comprehensive Measures which is to close gap between working conditions of regular and non-regular workers and to eliminate unreasonable discrimination in a bid to address the dual structure and polarization of the labor market.
However, the NHRCK concluded that some of the measures proposed have possibility to increase the number of non-regular workers or to be misused to undermine working condition of entire workers, and in order to prevent such problems, the following measures are needed.
First, the NHRCK concluded that extending contract period of fix-term and dispatched workers from the current two years to four years does not meet the purpose of the act which is to prevent prevalence of non-regular positions and to encourage switch from non-regular to regular positions, and it could rather increase the number of fix-term and dispatched workers to replace regular workers. In addition, measures to encourage transition to regular position or prevent abuse of no-regular position are insufficient, which is why the NHRCK recommended devising measures to address such problems.
Second, the NHRCK concluded that expanding the work that can hire dispatched workers, and easing regulation on contract period would facilitate polarization of the labor market by increasing the number of dispatched workers whose working condition is relatively poor, and measures to protect working condition of and ensure equal treatment for dispatched workers is needed.
Third, measures to specify difference between dispatch and subcontract in order to clearly distinguish lawful subcontract and illegal dispatch.
Fourth, measures to establish a guideline or rule on standard and process of dismissal have to be carefully approached because of possibility to be misused to dismiss employees or undermine working conditions.
The NHRCK wishes that in carrying out follow up measures international human rights standards and recommendation of the NHRCK are respected and the government step up its efforts for employment security and elimination of discrimination.
