REVISION TO WORKWEEK RECOMMENDED

[Anchor Lead]

The Yoon Seok-yeol government has unveiled the very first blueprint for the revision of the 52 hour work week, one of the pledges he originally amde. The key of the revision is diversifying units to manage overtime work hours from the current weekly basis to a monthly, quarterly plan. This means maximum working hours in a week can expand from the current 52 hours to 69 hours.

[Pkg]

After five months of discussions, the Future Labor Market Research Society has announced a final recommendation for the government to reform the labor market.

[Soundbite] Prof. Kwon Soon-won(Sookmyung Women's Univ.) : "We have come up with ways to change the current work-week system to meet various needs and boost flexibility."

The most evident change is diversifying units to manage overtime work hours from the current weekly basis to a monthly plan. It means increasing overtime work hours from the current 12 hours a week to 52 hours a month. Overtime would be 140 hours per quarter, which is about 90 percent of monthly work hours. Semiannually, it is 250 hours or 80 percent of the monthly hours. And annually, it is 440 hours or 70 percent of the monthly unit. The group also recommended that a rest of 11 straight hours be given to workers between workdays. The adjustment to the overtime management unit will let workers work up to 11.5 hours a day. This means working a maximum of 69 hours a week. However, the revision must obtain agreement between labor and management before introduction.

[Soundbite] Prof. Kwon Soon-won(Sookmyung Women's Univ.) : "When the maximum limit on overtime is considered, it is 69 hours a week. But they are rare, exceptional cases."

The group also proposed calculating pay for workers working on a selective hour system every three months, instead of the current one-month basis. It also proposed a work hour saving system that allows workers to have holidays, rather than pecuniary rewards, in return for their services on off-days or at night. The group also recommended converting the current salary step system to a merit-based system. Based on the recommendation, the government will devise and unveil a detailed road map for revising related laws.