Under the outcome of a public survey released by the labor ministry Monday, over 46 percent of the public agreed to a measure to increase the maximum overtime hours, in addition to the 52-hour workweek, by up to 12 hours. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The government will relax the maximum 52-hour weekly work hours for certain business sectors with heavy workloads, officials said Monday.
“While retaining the 52-hour workweek system, the government plans to come up with reform measures for certain types of industries and occupations,” Vice Labor Minister Lee Sung-hee said.
The Yoon Suk Yeol government has been seeking to bring more flexibility into the weekly work hours system introduced in 2018, under which the cap is 52 hours per week, amid businesses’ complaints about difficulties managing deadlines.
The government had earlier proposed a reform measure in March allowing the weekly cap to be raised to 69 hours only to withdraw it due to strong complaints from young workers that it could force them to overwork.
Under the latest decision, the government plans to select workplace types to be subject to a relaxed workweek, and determine the degree of the relaxation through on-site surveys and social dialogue.
The government is widely predicted to increase the maximum weekly work hours to less than 60 hours for manufacturing and producing sectors.
Under the outcome of a public survey released by the labor ministry Monday, over 46 percent of the public agreed to a measure to increase the maximum overtime hours, in addition to the 52-hour workweek, by up to 12 hours. Slightly over 41 percent of the workers and 38.2 percent of the employers were in favor of the extension.
The survey was conducted from June to August on 6,030 people, consisting of 3,839 workers, 976 employers and 1,215 citizens.
Over 47 percent of the employers and more than 54 percent of the public were also in favor of relaxing the workweek for certain business sectors and occupational fields. The support rating among the workers was 43 percent.
The manufacturing sector and workplaces involving equipment, production and installation were most frequently cited by the respondents as areas that need an extended workweek.
Even if the maximum weekly work hours are relaxed, the current work hours will remain the same on a monthly basis, with workers who had a longer workweek working less the following week.
The labor ministry also plans to come up with safety measures imposing the maximum weekly overtime hours and compulsory leave of absence to ensure workers’ heath rights.
The government, however, is likely to face a bumpy road to the final reform amid differing stances from the labor sector.
Reversing its boycott decision in June, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, one of South Korea’s two main umbrella labor unions, said it will resume dialogue with the presidential advisory board for labor policies, a communication channel with the government.
(Yonhap)
