The government made clear that it would go ahead with the introduction of performance-based wage system, despite the opposition by trade unions in the public and financial sectors which otherwise will go on a series of strikes. The government rejected the demand of trade unions for dialogue as well.
While trade unions in the public and financial sectors reconfirmed their commitment to the planned general strike In response to the government stubborn position, the confrontation between the government and trade unions runs to an extreme over the introduction of performance-based wage system.
Labor and Employment Minister Lee Ki-kwon held a press conference on September 20 in relation to the general strikes to be organized by the Joint Countermeasures Committee of Public Sector Trade Unions which are the affiliates of either the Federation of Korean Trade Unions(FKTU) or the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU).
Minister Lee said that "the government will take stern actions in accordance with the law and order, and push ahead with the reorganization of the wage system based on the job and performance". He insisted that "When the retirement age became extended to the age of 60, it was a legal obligation (for the companies) to reorganize the wage system towards the performance-based annual wage system.
The general strikes planned by the public and financial sector trade unions mean that they will not fulfill the legal responsibility imposed upon both the workers and employers by the Parliament to reorganize the wage system.
The Parliament revised the Act on Age Discrimination Prohibition in Employment and Aged Employment Promotion(Aged Employment Act) in 2013 and extended the legal retirement age to 60, while regulating that "necessary measures shall be taken including the reorganization of wage system in accordance with the conditions of the business and workplace". The ground for Minister Lee's insistence is 'the reorganization of wage system' and the government seeks to introduce the performance-based wage system as the new wage system.
However, the performance-based wage system is not the wage system that determines the wage base like the seniority-based wage, job-based wage and role-based wage. It is a form of wage payment like the fixed wage, hourly wage and monthly wage. An MOEL official conceded that the performance-based wage system is not the essence of the reorganization of wage system.
Some experts make a strong argument that what the Parliament meant the reorganization of wage system was the wage peak system. In fact, the Environment and Labor Committee of the Parliament debated it but without reaching any conclusion on whether they should specify the wage peak system in the revised bill. On the contrary, the performance-based wage system had never been discussed in the Committee.
Minister Lee turned down the demand of trade unions for dialogue on the ground that the matter should be dealt with by direct parties concerned, that is, employers and trade unions of the agencies and institutions, not by the government. The Korean Financial Industry Union(KFIU) president Kim Moon-ho said that if the government accepts the dialogue demand, unions can call off the strikes.
reported by Kim Bong-suk
edited in English by Kim Sung-jin
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