Mass layoffs unlikely among contract workers, report says

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Sept. 4, (Yonhap) -- Six out of every 10 non-regular workers were able to
keep their jobs in July, when a law limiting contract employment to two years
first took effect, the Labor Ministry said Friday.
Under the law, which was enacted on July 1, 2007, companies can only employ
non-regular workers for a maximum of two years, after which they must either
promote the workers to a regular and better-paying position or lay them off.
The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) had attempted to postpone the enforcement
of the contract worker law, citing fears of mass layoffs, but failed to do so due
to fierce objection from opposition parties. At the time, the GNP insisted that
as many as 1 million of the nation's 5.5 million non-regular workers could lose
their jobs.
A survey conducted by the ministry found that 62.9 percent of 19,760 non-regular
workers, whose two-year contracts at over 11,000 randomly selected firms expired
in July, were rehired. It showed 36.8 percent, or 7,276 people, were transformed
into regular workers, while 26.1 percent, or 5,164, had their employment contract
renewed.
Only 37 percent of them lost jobs, the survey said.
"The status of the (rehired) workers still remains fragile," a ministry official
said. "This could cause problems later, so the government will beef up monitoring
to make companies abide by the law."
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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