Tuesday, November 08, 2005
[IWS]KLI: [Korea] INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS:STABILITY & COOPERATION in a CHANGING ENVIRONMENT [20 October 2005]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
KOREA LABOR INSTITUTE (KLI)
This paper was presented at 4th NorthEast Labour Forum(October 20, 2005) held in Beijing, China on October 20, 2005, convened by the Korea Labor Institute(KLI).
ISSUE PAPER, No. 47, 2005
Industrial Relations: Stability and Cooperation in a Changing Environment - With focus on collective bargaining, tripartism and dispute resolution mechanism
Lim Sang-hoon
Research Fellow, Korea Labor Institute
Email: <mailto:slim@kli.re.kr>
October 2005
http://www.kli.re.kr/kli_eng/elabor/47/elabr_Frameset3.htm
or
http://www.kli.re.kr/kli_eng/elabor/47/main3.htm
1. Wage and Collective Bargaining
A. System and structure of labor and management interest representation
Korean workers and employers have each formed unions and employer groups to represent their interests in matters of labor relations. These organizations serve two main functions. First, they negotiate and agree on the principles on wage, working conditions and union activities. Apart from these activities, the labor and management organizations also engage themselves in the government's policy-making process to represent their interests. The latter corresponds to "tripartism" that has already been discussed in the previous paper. This paper will therefore focus on the first main function, bargaining.
To address the issue of bargaining, it must first be determined who the bargaining parties are. Unlike in the west, employer groups in Korea are not formed at the level of industry (occupation) or region. In fact, the employers have tried since the mid-90s to align themselves at industry level to counter workers' demands for industry unions and industry-level collective bargaining. But employers' industrial gathering remains loose at best, with the Korean Federation of Banks as probably the only industry-level group of employers.
It should be noted, however, that there are a number of employer groups at a national level, to compensate for the near lack of industrial or regional representation. Korea Employers Federation, Federation of Korean Industries, Korean Chamber of Commerce, Korea International Trade Association and Korean Federation of Small and Medium Business, commonly known as the "five major economic groups," are the main organizations that represent employers' interests in labor relations. The five groups came together to form the Council of Korea Employers' Organizations, for which the Korea Employers Federation serves as the secretariat to coordinate the opinions of the different bodies. This is the main reason why the Korea Employers Federation has come to be known as the most representative of employers' interests in Korea.
The five employers' bodies including the Korea Employers Federation make it their principle to stay away from any and all types of bargaining, be it in a workplace, across an industry (occupation) or a region. Although they are nationwide groups, they neither engage in nation-level bargaining on wage and working conditions. Exceptions do exist, such as the wage bargaining between the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korea Employers Federation in 1993 and 1994, but they are highly rare. The furthest they would go in terms of involvement in labor relations is to announce the employers' position on the wage increase rate or labor's main demands in the year. But they are more active at the policy front. They aggressively get engaged in the government's policy-making process to represent employers' interests as a party to tripartism.
Unlike the employers, the workers have representation at various levels. At company, industry (occupation), region and national level, there are either unions or federations to advocate their interests. As of December 2002, there are about 6,500 unions in Korea, with a total membership of 1.61 million, or 11.6% of the total wage worker population. The predominant form of Korean unions is the company union: numbering around 5,500, company unions account for 84% of labor representation, and 61% of total membership. The company-level grouping poses challenges in unifying interests of all workers. The presence of two different nationwide federations further limits efforts to coordinate the varying interests of different members and groups. The two federations displayed starkly different political traits and activities in the beginning, but they are becoming more alike as time goes by.
The main functions of a labor union are: a. to determine wage, other working conditions and union activities through negotiations with the employer (group); and b. to represent workers' interests by participating in the government's policy-making process. Because engaging in the policy-making process through tripartism is an effective way of promoting interests of the overall worker population beyond the boundaries of individual groups or members, labor unions have increased their level of participation since the mid-90s.
The workers who do not belong to unions may still seek to represent their interests through the "labor-management council." The council is installed at each company to ensure employees' participation in management and enhance mutual understanding. Its installation is mandatory for companies with at least 30 workers on permanent payroll (who have the right to determine the working conditions), and voluntary for those of lesser size. The council shall be comprised of equal number of representatives from labor and management. In the event that a labor union already exists in the workplace with majority of the employees as members, labor's representatives to the council shall be designated by the union president and the union. With no such union present, labor representatives are voted by the employees. The council does not have the right to undertake industrial actions or determine the wage level. But workers are still able to represent their interests through the council, although to a limited extent, as the council deals in matters such as dividend allocation, employment adjustment, procurement of new machinery and techniques, improvement in the working process and employee training.
Continued at
http://www.kli.re.kr/kli_eng/elabor/47/papers/paper1.pdf
[full-text, 15 pages]
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10016
________________________________________________________________________
KOREA LABOR INSTITUTE (KLI)
This paper was presented at 4th NorthEast Labour Forum(October 20, 2005) held in Beijing, China on October 20, 2005, convened by the Korea Labor Institute(KLI).
ISSUE PAPER, No. 47, 2005
Industrial Relations: Stability and Cooperation in a Changing Environment - With focus on collective bargaining, tripartism and dispute resolution mechanism
Lim Sang-hoon
Research Fellow, Korea Labor Institute
Email: <mailto:slim@kli.re.kr>
October 2005
http://www.kli.re.kr/kli_eng/elabor/47/elabr_Frameset3.htm
or
http://www.kli.re.kr/kli_eng/elabor/47/main3.htm
1. Wage and Collective Bargaining
A. System and structure of labor and management interest representation
Korean workers and employers have each formed unions and employer groups to represent their interests in matters of labor relations. These organizations serve two main functions. First, they negotiate and agree on the principles on wage, working conditions and union activities. Apart from these activities, the labor and management organizations also engage themselves in the government's policy-making process to represent their interests. The latter corresponds to "tripartism" that has already been discussed in the previous paper. This paper will therefore focus on the first main function, bargaining.
To address the issue of bargaining, it must first be determined who the bargaining parties are. Unlike in the west, employer groups in Korea are not formed at the level of industry (occupation) or region. In fact, the employers have tried since the mid-90s to align themselves at industry level to counter workers' demands for industry unions and industry-level collective bargaining. But employers' industrial gathering remains loose at best, with the Korean Federation of Banks as probably the only industry-level group of employers.
It should be noted, however, that there are a number of employer groups at a national level, to compensate for the near lack of industrial or regional representation. Korea Employers Federation, Federation of Korean Industries, Korean Chamber of Commerce, Korea International Trade Association and Korean Federation of Small and Medium Business, commonly known as the "five major economic groups," are the main organizations that represent employers' interests in labor relations. The five groups came together to form the Council of Korea Employers' Organizations, for which the Korea Employers Federation serves as the secretariat to coordinate the opinions of the different bodies. This is the main reason why the Korea Employers Federation has come to be known as the most representative of employers' interests in Korea.
The five employers' bodies including the Korea Employers Federation make it their principle to stay away from any and all types of bargaining, be it in a workplace, across an industry (occupation) or a region. Although they are nationwide groups, they neither engage in nation-level bargaining on wage and working conditions. Exceptions do exist, such as the wage bargaining between the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korea Employers Federation in 1993 and 1994, but they are highly rare. The furthest they would go in terms of involvement in labor relations is to announce the employers' position on the wage increase rate or labor's main demands in the year. But they are more active at the policy front. They aggressively get engaged in the government's policy-making process to represent employers' interests as a party to tripartism.
Unlike the employers, the workers have representation at various levels. At company, industry (occupation), region and national level, there are either unions or federations to advocate their interests. As of December 2002, there are about 6,500 unions in Korea, with a total membership of 1.61 million, or 11.6% of the total wage worker population. The predominant form of Korean unions is the company union: numbering around 5,500, company unions account for 84% of labor representation, and 61% of total membership. The company-level grouping poses challenges in unifying interests of all workers. The presence of two different nationwide federations further limits efforts to coordinate the varying interests of different members and groups. The two federations displayed starkly different political traits and activities in the beginning, but they are becoming more alike as time goes by.
The main functions of a labor union are: a. to determine wage, other working conditions and union activities through negotiations with the employer (group); and b. to represent workers' interests by participating in the government's policy-making process. Because engaging in the policy-making process through tripartism is an effective way of promoting interests of the overall worker population beyond the boundaries of individual groups or members, labor unions have increased their level of participation since the mid-90s.
The workers who do not belong to unions may still seek to represent their interests through the "labor-management council." The council is installed at each company to ensure employees' participation in management and enhance mutual understanding. Its installation is mandatory for companies with at least 30 workers on permanent payroll (who have the right to determine the working conditions), and voluntary for those of lesser size. The council shall be comprised of equal number of representatives from labor and management. In the event that a labor union already exists in the workplace with majority of the employees as members, labor's representatives to the council shall be designated by the union president and the union. With no such union present, labor representatives are voted by the employees. The council does not have the right to undertake industrial actions or determine the wage level. But workers are still able to represent their interests through the council, although to a limited extent, as the council deals in matters such as dividend allocation, employment adjustment, procurement of new machinery and techniques, improvement in the working process and employee training.
Continued at
http://www.kli.re.kr/kli_eng/elabor/47/papers/paper1.pdf
[full-text, 15 pages]
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 11:18 AM
