Ruling, minority parties press main opposition for compromise on workers' bill

SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Grand National Party (GNP), in a temporary
alliance with two minority parties, increased pressure on its main opposition
rival Thursday to agree to a new government-backed revision to the law on
non-regular workers.
But given the Democratic Party (DP)'s rejection of the newest proposal being put
forward, the possibility of such an agreement remains unclear.
The GNP and the two splinter parties, including the conservative Liberal Forward
Party, have agreed to a one-time 18-month extension of the non-regular workers
law, which currently requires employers to either lay off or officially hire
non-regular workers after two years with a company.
The proposed revision originally sought to permanently extend the time-limit to
four years.
The move comes as many non-regular workers are said to have been laid off since
the two-year limit expired at the beginning of this month after the law was
enacted in July 2007.
Some 400,000 people are currently employed on a temporary basis, according to
tallies by the opposition and labor unions, while the government and the ruling
party claim as many as one million could lose their jobs in the very near future
unless the two-year time limit is extended.
"The agreement came as we believed there could be mass lay-offs if we let the
situation continue," said Rep. Cho Won-jin, GNP leader on the National Assembly
Environment and Labor Committee.
The DP quickly dismissed the GNP-led agreement on the 18-month grace period.
"As the law is already in effect, suspending its execution violates the spirit of
the Constitution. The party will not engage in dialogue (with the ruling party)
over the proposed suspension," senior DP leader on the committee Rep. Kim Jae-yun
told reporters.
President Lee Myung-bak earlier Thursday urged rival parties to first gain time
for non-regular workers who are on the verge of unemployment before seeking a
more permanent solution to the law, which he said should not have been passed in
the first place.
"Because (the parliament) enacted the law without addressing the fundamental
problems when they first legislated it, many non-regular workers are now facing
difficulties while only a few are benefiting from the law," Lee told a joint
economic policy meeting attended by officials, legislators and business
representatives.
The GNP, which currently controls 169 seats in the 299-seat parliament, earlier
sought to unilaterally pass the revision, but the attempt was physically blocked
by opposition DP legislators, who formed a human barricade before the entrance of
the Assembly hall.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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