Unions seek legal basis to participate in management

The nation’s two umbrella unions — the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions — submitted a joint proposal for a constitutional revision to the National Assembly, Tuesday, putting emphasis on empowering workers’ rights.

Specifically, the unions touted “equal benefit sharing between labor and management” which obligates private companies to share their gains with workers and subcontractors. Of course, some Korean companies give merit pay when they make greater profits than expected — which is not mandatory. If the principle is adopted in the new Constitution, the Assembly will have to design a formula to distribute benefits more equally.

“A handful of chaebol have monopolized the benefits created in society. This has consolidated economic polarization between management and workers, as well as between conglomerates and subcontractors,” the proposal submitted by the labor unions reads.

If the claim is stipulated in the new Constitution, the share of workers — including irregular workers who are not union members — will grow palpably, said Kim Jong-jin, vice president of Korea Labor and Society Institute.

“Korean workers’ share in the whole benefit is about 20 percent lower, compared to other OECD member countries,” Kim said. “The initiative will fundamentally rebalance the relationship between management and labor.”

The existing Constitution states “economic democratization” aimed at protecting workers, subcontractors and small businesses that conglomerates frequently exploit. “The envisioned shift to equal benefit sharing between labor and management is expected to bring noticeable change, since it would compel sharing the wealth with workers,” Kim said.

According to Kim, similar principles are widespread in European countries where the influence of social democratic politics is dominant.

The joint proposal accentuated that the principle was included in the first Constitution of Korea promulgated in 1948, as a fruit of the Constitutional Assembly. The article was removed in a 1962 constitutional revision, without proper public discussion.

In 1948, Jeon Jin-han, a lawmaker-turned-minister of social affairs, pushed ahead the principle to be included in the Constitution, saying: “If capitalists have invested their capital, workers have invested their labor for their business. This justifies the equal benefit sharing between the two. It is such an outdated idea that labor is located beneath capital.”

In tandem with the equal benefit sharing, the unions also called for workers’ increased participation in management. “Management and labor are closely tied. It is time to institutionalize workers’ participation in a bid to enhance management transparency,” the proposal reads.

The joint proposal overlaps considerably with the constitutional amendment bill submitted by President Moon Jae-in last month. Like Moon’s bill, it stated the government’s “obligation” to ensure public safety and health for the people, while the existing Constitution recommends the government’s “efforts” for it.

At some points, the proposals called for expansion of rights beyond Moon’s bill. For example, Moon’s bill recommended the government’s “efforts” for “equal pay for equal work” while the union claimed the government’s “obligation” for it.

It also urged for a broader spectrum in applying workers’ rights, compared to Moon’s bill. While Moon said some public servants’ right to collective action could be limited, the unions urged to abolish the limitation. Further, the unions urged to stipulate “gender equality” at workplaces.