This Aug. 1, 2024, file photo provided by the Korea Enterprises Federation shows major business lobbies holding a joint protest against the opposition parties’ efforts to pass the so-called “yellow envelope bill” at the National Assembly in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Over half of foreign companies operating in South Korea expect a contentious pro-labor bill being pushed forward by opposition parties will negatively impact their businesses here, a survey showed Monday.
In the survey conducted by Mono Research on 100 foreign companies with over 100 employees from July 26 to Aug. 6, 55 percent responded that they anticipated a negative impact from the “yellow envelope bill.”
The proposed bill guarantees the bargaining rights of indirectly employed subcontracted workers and prohibits companies from litigation for damages and provisional seizures against unionized workers with the intention of suppressing their strikes.
In the survey commissioned by the Federation of Korean Industries, 49 percent of respondent firms expected a slightly negative effect, and 6 percent expected a very negative impact.
On the other hand, 35 percent said the bill would have no impact, and 10 percent viewed the proposed change as positive. Respondents were allowed to give multiple answers.
On average, the surveyed firms predicted that domestic walkouts would increase by 20 percent and foreign investment would decrease by 15.4 percent if the bill were passed.
The federation expressed concern that the expansion of strikes following the enactment of the amendment could lead to increased rigidity in the labor market and heightened labor-management conflicts.
(Yonhap)
