Until 2018 the weekly working day was 68 hours
March 6 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The South Korean government has announced on Monday a reform of the labor law that maintains the maximum limit of 52 hours per week, but allows monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual compensation to be able to respond to possible work peaks.
The current regulation of 52 weekly hours dates from 2018 and with it the overtime that could be worked per week is limited to twelve hours. Until then the weekly work limit was 68 hours.
To avoid an excessive workload, quarterly hours are limited to 140, semester hours to 250 or 440 hours per year, according to the new legislative package, which also provides for a minimum of eleven hours of rest between working days.
It also provides for a maximum weekly work of 69 hours, 64 if the established minimum hours of rest are not met, the Government has reported and the South Korean news agency Yonhap reports.
The system also provides for compensation for overtime with a new system of “sabbatical months” that can be added to vacation periods, always after an agreement between workers and company management.
“It benefits workers with different schedules, such as those who have four-day weeks and a sabbatical month, and helps companies manage their human resources,” Labor Minister Lee Jeong Sik said at a press conference.
The bill is now in the public review period and will be introduced in the South Korean Parliament in June or July.
The opposition has already expressed its outright rejection of the rule through the Democratic Party and the Justice Party, while the Korea Business Federation has expressed its support for the initiative, considering it a “big step” towards flexibility.
From the unions they have criticized that “this reform makes legal a working day from 9:00 to midnight”, in the words of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.
