Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik of the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) delivers his key-note speech at the 108th Session of International Labor Conference held in Geneva in 2019. (Photo: KEF)

Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik of the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) spoke on the theme of labor, management and government’s role in overcoming the crisis caused by COVID-19 at the 109th Session of International Labor Conference, in Geneva on June 8.

The session was held on-line due to the pandemic.

About 4,000 labor, management and government representatives from 187 member countries of the International Labor Organization (ILO) participated in the session from June 7 to June 17 to discuss labor issues, including a recovery from the effects of the pandemic.

Chairman Sohn said, “The number of employees dropped by 218,000 last year, the biggest reduction since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.”

One in every four youth was left virtually jobless, and many new jobs were short-time ones, so quality and quantity of employment was worrisome, he said. In order to overcome the current crisis, Chairman Sohn said many investments are needed, and labor and management will have to demonstrate cooperation.

Chairman Sohn called for the amendment of the Korean Act on Labor Affairs for ILO’s major agreements to provide employment.

Even though the Korean business community sympathizes with the need for ratifying ILO’s key agreements, he said, if the agreements go into effect without full social consensus and balanced institutional reform, it will cause confusion and conflict at industry worksites and within labor-management relationships.

With one year being left for the successful implementation of the agreements, Sohn demanded that erroneous, obsolete clauses such as replacement workers amid strikes and criminal punishment on unfair labor practices be revised.

One in Four Small Companies Not Ready to Embrace 52-Hour Work Week

With one month left for the enforcement of 52-hour work week for companies with fewer than 50 employees, about one-fourth of SMEs turned out to not be ready to adopt the new regime.

A survey of 319 SMEs, conducted by KEF, showed that 25.7 percent of the respondents said they were not ready to adopt the 52-hour work week, effective in July.

In particular, 10.5 percent replied that they were not ready while 11.4 percent claimed they found it hard to accept the system.

If the system is implemented as planned, 21.9 percent turned out to find it impossible to employ it.

Only 3.8 percent said they could manage to finish preparations before the system goes into effect while 74.3 percent said they found it necessary to make no additional preparations.

As for the reasons for not preparing for the 52-hour work week, 63 percent cited a shortage of work in specific periods and 55.6 percent cited difficulties in skilled workers and other manpower.

Besides, 37 percent cited insufficient expertise and administrative power for preparations whereas 19 percent spoke about management problems, caused by the pandemic and 18.5 percent mentioned financial burden such as facility investments.