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◇Cho Tae-im> This is Moamoa Fact Check, which organizes the week with fact checks. Today, we are with reporter Jeon Seong-soo from News Top, a media outlet specializing in fact checking. hello. Today’s topic is ‘Are temporary holidays everyone’s holidays?’ It is.
◆Seon Jeong-su> Yes, to conclude, it is not true. The government deliberated and decided on the agenda of designating October 2 as a temporary public holiday at the Cabinet meeting on September 5, 2023. Accordingly, a six-day holiday was created from September 28th, when the Chuseok holiday begins, to October 3rd, National Foundation Day. However, there are many people who do not receive the benefits of this temporary holiday designation.
◇Cho Tae-im> The government designated it as a temporary public holiday at the Cabinet meeting and made an announcement. Why are some people unable to rest on temporary holidays?
◆Seon Jeong-su> It’s because of the Labor Standards Act. Many provisions of the Labor Standards Act do not apply to employees in businesses with fewer than five employees. This temporary public holiday on October 2nd falls under ‘other days designated by the government from time to time’ under Article 2, Paragraph 10 of the Public Holidays Act.
However, the Public Holidays Act stipulates that those subject to public holidays must follow the provisions of the National Civil Service Act and the Labor Standards Act. determining workers’ holidays Unfortunately, Article 55 of the Labor Standards Act specifies that holidays are applied to workplaces with 5 or more full-time employees.. According to this law, employees in workplaces with fewer than four employees are not eligible for holidays, nor can they receive holiday work pay for working on holidays. Of course, employers may grant holidays, holiday pay, and alternative work to their employees in good faith, but it is only ‘good faith’ and not a legal obligation.
◇Cho Tae-im> This means that workers in businesses with less than 5 employees, that is, workers in businesses with 1 to 4 employees, are not subject to this temporary holiday. How many people are like this?
Office workers are rushing to work with umbrellas. Reporter Hwang Jin-hwan
◆Selected Number> According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s 2021 business labor status statistics, there are 1,239,760 businesses nationwide with 1 to 4 employees, and the number of workers working there is 3,138,284. Of these, even if we exclude 722,685 self-employed people and 124,324 unpaid family members and other workers, nearly 2.3 million people do not receive temporary public holiday benefits.
In terms of proportion, the total number of workplaces in Korea is about 2 million, and 62% of them have less than 5 employees. 17% of the total employees, or about 2 out of 10, are employed in businesses with less than 5 employees.
◇Cho Tae-im> The government is citing things like stimulating consumption and revitalizing domestic demand as the reasons for designating this temporary holiday. The hope is to increase consumption while traveling or resting within the country. For those who run the travel, lodging, and restaurant industries, it is a ‘big tree’. It seems that these businesses need to be open so that people who spend the holidays can spend money.
◆Seon Jeong-su> Yes, that’s right. If someone wants to eat without getting their hands wet, someone else has to cook the food. However, the government’s reason for designating a temporary public holiday also includes the guarantee of citizens’ right to rest. Not being able to take a break just because you work at a small business is not right from the perspective of the people’s right to rest.
Employees at workplaces with five or more employees subject to the Labor Standards Act receive substitute holidays or holiday work allowance if they work on temporary holidays. However, for workers in businesses with less than 5 employees, this is just a pie in the sky. Of course, employers may grant holidays, holiday pay, and alternative work to employees in good faith, but this is only ‘good faith’ and not a legal obligation.
◇Cho Tae-im> Wouldn’t this problem be solved if the Labor Standards Act were applied to workplaces with less than 5 employees? In fact, this discussion has been around for a very long time.
◆Seon Jeong-su> The Labor Standards Act was enacted in 1953. At the time of enactment, businesses with less than 15 employees were not subject to the law. Then, with the revision of the Enforcement Decree in 1975, the scope of exclusion was reduced to workplaces with four or fewer employees, which continues to this day. Since 1999, some regulations have also been applied to workplaces with four or fewer employees.
The argument that the Labor Standards Act should be applied to all workplaces regardless of size has been consistently raised by labor and progressive groups. It has a long history, so much so that in October 1996, during the Kim Young-sam administration, an article was searched in which then-Prime Minister Lee Soo-seong answered a question to the government in the National Assembly by saying, “We are considering applying the Labor Standards Act and the Industrial Accident Insurance Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees.”
◇Cho Tae-im> However, the Labor Standards Act is still not applied to workplaces with less than 5 employees.
◆Selected Number> Yes, the current Labor Standards Act is, in principle, applied to workplaces with 5 or more full-time workers. However, only some provisions apply to workplaces with less than five employees. Because of these laws, workers in businesses with less than five employees are exposed to relatively unfavorable treatment.
Provisions of the Labor Standards Act that do not apply to employees in workplaces with fewer than five employees include Article 30, Paragraph 1, which prohibits dismissal without justifiable cause, as well as applications for dismissal relief, severance pay, applications for dismissal relief, shutdown allowances, working hours, additional wages for holiday work, and paid pay. Regulations such as vacation replacement, menstrual leave, and maternity protection for female workers do not apply.
◇Cho Tae-im> Wouldn’t it be possible for the National Assembly to change the Labor Standards Act?
◆Selected Numbers> Related bills have been proposed in previous National Assembly sessions, but they have not been brought to fruition. In this National Assembly, some lawmakers from the Democratic Party and the Justice Party proposed a bill to expand the scope of the Labor Standards Act to all workplaces, but it is not gaining speed.
The government is also proclaiming to expand the application of the Labor Standards Act. The Ministry of Employment and Labor presented ‘resolving blind spots in legal protection’ as a sub-task of ‘improving the dual structure of the labor market’ through this year’s work report. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has pledged to “promote the phased application of the Labor Standards Act for less than 5 employees with a focus on protecting workers’ personal rights.”
◇Cho Tae-im> The opposition party wants to pursue it and the government also says they will, but why is it not happening?
◆Seon Jeong-su> This is because there is strong opposition from small business owners. The Federation of Small Businesses strongly opposes the ruling party’s move to apply the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees.
The union said in a statement last June, “If the Labor Standards Act is expanded, costs will increase due to additional (overtime, holiday, night) pay and annual leave, as well as administrative management costs due to restrictions on dismissal, written notices, and applications for unfair dismissal relief.” “All small business owners will have to bear the burden,” he said, adding, “The management burden will increase, and they will inevitably be driven out as criminals.” If the burden on small businesses increases, their management becomes jeopardized and they are inevitably driven to the brink of extinction.
However, it is also a stark reality that if small businesses continue to fail to protect basic labor rights, they will inevitably be shunned by the working population.
◇Cho Tae-im> It is true that if the Labor Standards Act is fully applied to workplaces with less than five employees, the burden on small business owners will increase. Still, shouldn’t basic labor rights be protected?
◆Selection> It is important to strike a balance between the solvency of small businesses and the protection of vulnerable workers. This is something that requires social consensus. If the Labor Standards Act is fully applied to small businesses, companies will have to pay various costs that they have not had to pay before, and in the bill proposed to the National Assembly, there is a provision that allows the government to support these costs.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Employment and Labor are in the position that “the obligation to guarantee working conditions is an obligation that employers must comply with, and compliance with working conditions and the accompanying costs are the responsibility of the employer.” To put it simply, a convenience store hires a part-timer and the couple works day and night to barely make a living. However, if they provide holiday pay and overtime pay, the burden of labor costs will increase and the convenience store will have to close. This is the logic.
If all small businesses that are unable to pay go bankrupt, customers who previously used small businesses such as convenience stores will have no choice but to experience inconvenience, and out of necessity workers who worked part-time while receiving minimum wage will lose their jobs.
If the government supports the costs incurred due to the full application of the Labor Standards Act, it will ultimately be borne through national taxes. This is an area that requires social consensus. However, if there are many people who say they have to pay taxes to spend money, the government will provide support, and if there are many people who ask why they are using their own money to support small businesses, then it cannot be supported.
◇Cho Tae-im> It’s not as simple a problem as you think. It is important to find a solution that can co-exist so that everyone is guaranteed basic labor rights and small business owners are not harmed. With the designation of a temporary public holiday on October 2nd, a 6-day holiday was created. There are differing opinions about the economic effects of designating a temporary holiday.
◆Selected Number> Analysis shows that the expansion of public holidays leads to economic ripple effects, such as boosting domestic demand. Hyundai Research Institute said in an economic weekly review published in March, “The total economic consumption expenditure on the 1st day of the substitute holiday is estimated to be about 2.4 trillion won, the production inducement through this is about 4.8 trillion won, and the added value inducement is about 2.4 trillion won. “It is estimated that it will cost 1.9 trillion won and cause employment of about 40,000 people,” he said. On the other hand, until the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the business community argued that the expansion of public holidays would lead to damage to businesses. In 2013, the Korean Federation of Korean Industries analyzed that an increase in one day of public holidays resulted in a decrease in production of 8.5 trillion won. Depending on the subject of analysis, the production effect appears to be an increase of 4.8 trillion won or a decrease of 8.5 trillion won as the number of public holidays increases by one day.
◇Cho Tae-im> First of all, the government is aiming to stimulate consumption and revitalize domestic demand by designating temporary holidays. I heard that there is a proviso to the position that the production effect will increase?
◆Seon Jeong-su> Let me briefly quote the Hyundai Economic Research Institute report.
<글로벌 교역 환경 개선 지연 등으로 국내 경제의 큰 비중을 차지하는 수출 부진이 지속되고 있어 내수 진작을 통한 추가적인 경기 둔화 예방 조치가 시급한 상황이라는 점을 고려하면 대체공휴일 확대 지정은 매우 중요하고 필요한 조치라고 판단됨.
However, not only are workplaces with less than five employees excluded from the application of alternative holidays, but it is also difficult for small businesses and non-regular workers to participate in the expansion of alternative holidays due to concerns about increased social cost burden such as increased holiday wages and production losses.
Accordingly, it was pointed out that there is a need to make efforts to encourage active participation through consideration and institutional support from the government, economic organizations, and large corporations for related workplaces.
◇Cho Tae-im>Yes, so far I have been a reporter for News Top, a gathering of facts.
2023-09-29 23:01:36
#office #workers #rest #temporary #holidays노컷체크
