Flexible Work Hours

[Anchor Lead]

In recent days, labor and management have been in conflict over the extension of the flexible work hour system. The Economic, Social and Labor Council, a dialogue channel for government, business and labor, has finally reached an agreement to extend the unit period for the flexible work hour rule, to six months.

[Pkg]

The Economic, Social and Labor Council, a social dialogue channel established under the presidential office, has reached an agreement on the disputed issue of extending flexible work hours after two months of standoff and tough negotiations. The council has agreed to extend the unit period for the flexible work rule from the current three months to six months. Under the agreement, as long as labor and management agree to an average 52-hour work week, hours can be flexibly adjusted within a six-month time frame. Also, when flexible work hours continue past three months, hours can then be determined on a weekly basis, and employees need to be notified of their daily hours at least two weeks prior. Companies have called for expanding the unit period for the flexible work hour system in order to abide by the 52-hour work week. Labor representatives have accepted this request. However, the latest agreement also includes some demands made by labor including protection of health rights and preservation of wages. For instance, continued rest of at least eleven hours straight has been guaranteed for workers, which means if a person worked until 10 pm, he or she should not come to work before 9 am the next day.

[Soundbite] Kim Ju-young(President, Federation of Korean Trade Unions) : "We'll do our best so the flexible work rule is not abused against non-unionized workers."

[Soundbite] Sohn Kyung-shik(Chairman, Korea Employers Federation) : "There are many labor-management issues and we aim to resolve them one after another through compromise."

The approved plan will now be handed over to the National Assembly.