 |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
: 
Wage increase this year proposed: 8-9 percent and 2.6 percent by labor and management respectively
Labor and management unveiled wage increase guideline marking beginning of collective wage bargaining for this year.
Difference of proposed wage increase rates between labor and management has narrowed compared to last year. However, since there still is a big gap in that labor proposed 8.0-9.1 percent wage increase and management 2.6 percent instead, a tense tug of war is expected to come by.
On 19 February, Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) announced its request for 9.1 percent wage increase based on ‘2008 standard living costs’ and survey on its affiliated enterprises for wage increase. Furthermore, to resolve issues such as social bi-polarization and poverty, 18.1 percent wage increase was requested for irregular workers and minimum wage was proposed to set at 990,242 won (4,738 won for an hour). (Refer to LaborToday No. 516 dated 20 February 2008)
On the other hand, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) announced its request for 8.0 percent increase in aggregate monthly fixed-wage for regular workers. To narrow the gap in wage between regular and irregular workers, 20.2 percent wage increase for irregular workers and legal minimum wage of 994,840 won (4,760 won for an hour) have been requested. In addition, KCTU decided to recommend, at the concluding point of the bargaining, (1) to use a certain proportion of the wage increase of regular workers, through collective bargaining, in order to narrow wage gap for irregular workers and change their status into unfixed-term contract workers, (2) to change the wage hike method from rate to fixed-amount in order to increase the same amount of wage for both regular and irregular workers (the case of metal unions).
To the contrary, Korea Employers Federation (KEF) representing Korean employers recommended 2.6 percent wage increase for this year on 6 March 2008 and in particular large enterprises are advised to freeze their wage. In addition, it also argued for introduction of “post wage decision system” by utilizing profit-sharing as well as job function-based payment system. KEF also requested minimum wage freeze for years to come. KEF insists that wage freeze is in urgent need since this year business environments for Korean enterprises will be severe with oil and raw material price hike and weak dollar. It also demanded the government to keep inflation down to get rid of a vicious circle between inflation and wage increase.
Labor side announces a separate wage increase guideline for regular and irregular workers since 2005 in a view to increase wage of irregular workers. However, management side is paying attention to wage freeze for large enterprises since 2004. Wage increase guidelines by labor and management are for the use of recommendation and each enterprise or workplace decides every year its wage increase rate taking into account its business situations or in accordance to results of its collective bargaining.
On 19 February, Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) announced its request for 9.1 percent wage increase based on ‘2008 standard living costs’ and survey on its affiliated enterprises for wage increase. Furthermore, to resolve issues such as social bi-polarization and poverty, 18.1 percent wage increase was requested for irregular workers and minimum wage was proposed to set at 990,242 won (4,738 won for an hour). (Refer to LaborToday No. 516 dated 20 February 2008)
On the other hand, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) announced its request for 8.0 percent increase in aggregate monthly fixed-wage for regular workers. To narrow the gap in wage between regular and irregular workers, 20.2 percent wage increase for irregular workers and legal minimum wage of 994,840 won (4,760 won for an hour) have been requested. In addition, KCTU decided to recommend, at the concluding point of the bargaining, (1) to use a certain proportion of the wage increase of regular workers, through collective bargaining, in order to narrow wage gap for irregular workers and change their status into unfixed-term contract workers, (2) to change the wage hike method from rate to fixed-amount in order to increase the same amount of wage for both regular and irregular workers (the case of metal unions).
To the contrary, Korea Employers Federation (KEF) representing Korean employers recommended 2.6 percent wage increase for this year on 6 March 2008 and in particular large enterprises are advised to freeze their wage. In addition, it also argued for introduction of “post wage decision system” by utilizing profit-sharing as well as job function-based payment system. KEF also requested minimum wage freeze for years to come. KEF insists that wage freeze is in urgent need since this year business environments for Korean enterprises will be severe with oil and raw material price hike and weak dollar. It also demanded the government to keep inflation down to get rid of a vicious circle between inflation and wage increase.
Labor side announces a separate wage increase guideline for regular and irregular workers since 2005 in a view to increase wage of irregular workers. However, management side is paying attention to wage freeze for large enterprises since 2004. Wage increase guidelines by labor and management are for the use of recommendation and each enterprise or workplace decides every year its wage increase rate taking into account its business situations or in accordance to results of its collective bargaining.
