(EDITORIAL from the JoongAng Daily on Sept. 25)

Even hand vital for minister

Grand National Party lawmaker Yim Tae-hee is poised to be named the new labor
minister. With more labor-related issues on the table than in previous
administrations, Yim???s position as the nation???s chief of labor policy carries
a great deal of responsibility. First, he will have to resolve key pending
matters such as allowing dual labor unions within the same company and abolishing
paid positions for union members who only perform union duties. Yim will also
need to present realistic solutions to the irregular worker problem. And dealing
with the massive civil servants??? union, which recently joined the Korean
Confederation of Trade Unions, won???t be a cakewalk, either.
The labor and business circles have more concerns about Yim than expectations for
him. In past governments, several lawmakers-turned-labor ministers catered to
popular opinion and hurt labor-management relations more than they helped. During
the Roh Moo-hyun administration, Labor Minister Lee Sang-soo attempted and failed
to recognize three basic labor rights - to organization, to collective bargaining
and to collective action - for a million specialized workers, including insurance
planners.
To efficiently resolve labor problems and help improve labor-management
relations, the minister must not worry about what is popular. Instead he should
follow his own convictions and principles. One of those principles would be the
global standard. Dual unions and specialized union representatives are hot
potatoes, but the solution isn???t that difficult to find.
We simply have to follow the past example of developed nations as we resolve
these issues. Korea is the only OECD member not to permit dual unions, and though
companies paying individuals just to carry out union tasks has been a chronic
problem here, you???ll be hard pressed to find examples of it in other nations.
Yim pledged to do away with this practice, and he had better live up to those
words. Since dual unions could cause another sort of conflict, the minister must
gather expert opinions and prepare appropriate measures.
For problems with no applicable global standard, we have to rely on practicality.
The issue of irregular workers is a result of the rigid Korean labor market.
Common sense dictates that if you want to have an equal share of a small pie,
then someone has to compromise. So to resolve the irregular workers conundrum,
regular workers, who have more power, must make concessions and the market must
be more flexible.
The rule of law must be the basis for these strategies. And the minister must
earn the trust of both labor and the management that the government won???t take
sides. To do that, he must treat illegal practices by both sides the same.
(END)