[Homepage] [Study Circles] [Help] [Project Library] [Searching the Internet]
[Session1] [Session 2] [Session 3] [Session 4] [Session 5] [Session 6]

• Soar of unemployment rate and unstable employment under IMF bail-out system,
• It is estimated that mass unemployment will continue for a long time
• Decrease of labor force,
• Decrease of labor force participation rate.
• Decrease of employees by 5.3% compared to 1997,
• Increase of non-labor force
• Increase of the discouraged unemployed

*Source: Korea Labor Institute

• Number of wage earners is decreasing
• Because proportion of regular workers is decreasing, employment becomes more unstable(it was reduced from 52.5% to 50.9%)
• Soar of youth unemployment, relative increase of women unemployment

3.4 Government’s Policy on Economic Restructuring

• To promote labor market flexibility: legislation of lay-off and workers dispatch system

• To implement structural adjustment programs in financial sector and public sector
• To Compel companies to structural adjustment programs
• Inactive unemployment policy

[Table 3] Trends of Wage-Related Index

• In 1998, nominal wage was reduced by - 2.5% and real wage by -9.3%.
• Main reasons of wage decrease: economic crisis, reduction of labor demand, wage freeze or wage cut at the expense of employment
• Although fixed sum of wage wasn't reduced, extra pay and beneficiaries decreased.
• Manufacturing sector -3.1%, construction industry -7.5%

4.2 Trends of Working Time and Industrial Injury

• In 1998, average monthly working hour is 199.2 hours. Weekly working hour is 45.9 hours. Regular working hour is 179.1 hours and overtime is 20.1 hours. Working days per month is 24 day.
• In manufacturing sector, monthly working hour is 200.0 hours and weekly working hours is 46.1 hours.
• In 1998, the number of industrial casualties is 51,514 and death toll is 2,212. The rate of industrial injury is 0.68%.

[Table 4] Trends of Unions/Members/Union Density (as of end of each year)

5.2 Characteristics and Change of Union Organization

• Continuous decline of union density
• Union system based on enterprise-level
• Division of labor movement: KCTU and FKTU
• Urgent need to transform organizational system into industrial union system

5.3 Organizational System of FKTU and KCTU

[table5] Organizational Situation and Structure of FKTU (as of March 1998)

[table 6] Organizational situation and structure of KCTU (as of Feb. 1998)

* Recently, Korea Federation of commercial unions was affiliated to KCTU.

5.4. Trends of Industrial Dispute

[Table 7] trends of industrial dispute by causes

• Globalization: so-called IMF-managing system, global poverty and inequality.
• Neo-liberalism: deregulation of capital, privatization, flexibility of labor market, trade liberalization, structural adjustment programs
• Managerial rationalization: workforce retrenchment, flexible employment, efficiency & performance-based wage system, reinforcement of workplace control and company culture

6.2 Subjects Tasks

• Organization: organizational transformation into industrial union system, expansion and reinforcement of organization, activation of workplace organization, solidarity with civil and social movement organizations, development of capacity of officers and activists.
• Struggle: improvement of working & life condition, reform of policy and institutions, establishment of solidarity struggle front within labor movement, correct implementation of struggle tactics, set-up of solidarity struggle with social and civil movement
• Political reinforcement: strengthening of political capacity, construction of political party pro working class, combination of national and class issue
• Reestablishment of labor movement ideology: ideology based on historical development of labor movement, development of scientific theory and policy, radical transformation of Korean society, set-up of strategic objective for 21st labor movement.

1. Education of local union

• Education time in collective agreement: 12.5 hour per a year for union members, 4.1 hour for newly recruited member
• Education finance: 8.2% of total union budget.
• Education objective: promotion of participation in union activity and membership, reinforcement of socio-political consciousness, reinforcement of ability to cope with pending issues, training of union practical business.
• Number of education implementation: 4.1 times for members per a year, 1.8 times for local shop stewards, 3.3 times for local officers
• Education theme: pending union issues, enterprise management, industrial safety and health, day-to-day activity of union officers, transformation of unions' organizational form, understanding of Korean society, history of labor movement
• Education method: newsletters, lecture, question & answer, public hearing, workplace discussion, study circle.

2. Education of industrial federation

• Education finance: about 5% of total union budget
• Main education themes: labor law, collective bargaining and wage struggle, direction of labor movement, industrial union system, history of labor movement, new management strategy, political reinforcement of working class.
• Education method: lecture, question & answer, group discussion, public hearing, newsletter for education & propaganda, overseas study trip, media such as OHP or video, study circle.

3 Labor education of NGOs, universities and government agencies.

• Lack of education opportunity
• Poor education system
• Low level of education contents
• Lecture-centered education method
• Poor objective and principle of education
• Lack of link with professional education organizations

• Design of long-term plan and policy for labor education
• Set-up of organizations for education policy
• Systemization of education activity(method, organizations, trainees management)
• Enlargement of education opportunity and security of finance
• Development of education contents and methodology
• Activation of study circle
• Solidarity with professional education agents and international education organizations