Gov't considers easing employment rules for irregular workers: official

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- The government is considering a move to ease hiring rules for irregular workers to cope with the expected freeze in next year's job market, a senior policymaker said Wednesday.

Vice Finance Minister Bae Kook-hyan said the government is contemplating changes
to the current law that limits irregular workers' employment to two years.
The remarks came one day after the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it is
striving to create 100,000 new jobs in 2009, down from the 200,000-300,000
positions it said could be created earlier in the year, before the global
economic slump took effect.
Insiders say that the goal of 100,000 might not be reached, with actual numbers
likely to hover around 40,000 for the entire year.
"There are plans to extend the time that a company can hire an irregular worker
to three to four years," he said, adding that legislative action could take place
in February.
Under existing labor rules, a company can employ an irregular worker for a
maximum of two years before the worker is either let go or hired as a regular
employee.
Because it is legally difficult to fire a regular employee in South Korea, the
system has resulted in businesses not keeping workers for more than two years.
This practice has been cited for fueling unemployment, even though the original
objective was to increase the number of regular workers.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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