Biz group slams gov't policy for non-regular workers

SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's major business organizations criticized the government's decision to set guidelines banning discrimination against non-regular workers as ignoring labor market conditions.
The Korea Employers Federation (KEF), the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business jointly raised objections to the plan laid out by the government and the ruling Grand National Party (GNP).
They said that policymakers failed to understand that non-regular workers represented a form of hiring that is a vital part of the country's job market.
Government policymakers and GNP lawmakers agreed earlier in the day to actively deal with complaints of discrimination between regular and non-regular workers, and pledged to ease differences in such areas as wages, vacation time, pensions and employment insurance benefits. In addition, they said government oversight will be strengthened to ensure compliance.
"The view that non-regular positions should be abolished is based on misconception," the KEF, which represents the interest of mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), said in a press release.
The federation, in addition, said plans to publicize details about non-regular positions within a company are unheard of in other industrialized countries.
It also claimed that under South Korea's labor laws, regular workers enjoy considerable rights and protection, which has led to excessive wage hikes and rigidity in the job market.
The federation said that before policymakers move to tell companies how to hire workers, they should first address problems related to excessive protection provided to regular workers.
This viewed was echoed by the FKI that said pressuring companies to only hire regular workers could result in fewer job positions overall.
"The generally high wages that companies must pay regular workers will inevitability hurt job seekers and may lead to the firing of those that are already hired as non-regular workers," the lobbying group for large conglomerates said.
Other organizations said that while they understood the need to do away with discrimination, forcing companies to follow guidelines will only lead to repercussions and place a burden on companies that are already struggling to cope with sluggish growth.