Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) - Republic of Korea (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report and the supplementary information provided in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020).

The Committee also notes the observations of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korea Employers’ Federation (KEF), communicated with the Government’s report, as well as the observations of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) received on 20 September 2019. It further notes the observations of the KEF communicated with the Government’s supplementary information.

Article 4 of the Convention. Leave entitlements for men and women workers with family responsibilities. Previously, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the leave entitlements in practice, encouraged the Government to continue to take proactive measures so that more men exercise their right to take leave for childcare, and to indicate the results achieved by such measures. It notes that, according to statistics provided by the Government in its reports, the number of recipients of childcare leave continued to significantly increase between 2015 and 2019 (from 87,339 to 105,165 recipients in general and from 4,872 to 22,297 men). However, while the ratio of men among childcare leave beneficiaries significantly improved (from 5.6 per cent to 21.2 per cent in the same period), it remains low. In this regard, the Committee recalls that, previously the Government indicated that the underlying causes of the low number of men taking childcare leave is due to the overall social and employment cultures (such as the long-standing practice of working long hours and fear of what the supervisor or co-workers might think; in addition to the fact that men are still the majority of the primary – if not the only – revenue earner in the family). Consequently, the Committee encourages the Government: (i) to strengthen awareness-raising and education initiatives for both women and men, employers and workers, and society at large, to bring about better understanding of the problems encountered by all workers with family responsibilities and the importance of promoting equality between men and women with family responsibilities as well as facilitate the reconciliation between work and family responsibilities; (ii) to report on the results achieved by measures taken to encourage more men to exercise their right to take leave for childcare; and (iii) to continue to provide information on the leave entitlements, including statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the number of beneficiaries of such entitlements.

Working time arrangements and part-time work. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government: 1) to provide information on the status of the amendments relating to the flexible working hour system and working hour saving system as well as on the implementation of the 2018 amendments to the Labour Standards Act to reduce working hours, the trends in the average number of hours worked by men and women, as well as on any measures taken to address excessive overtime work and its impact on work-life balance; and 2) to indicate the number of men and women using the possibility of moving from full-time work to part-time work, and vice versa, and the measures taken to avoid female concentration in part-time work. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it supports businesses with less than 300 employees to implement the 2018 amendments to the Labour Standards Act (reducing working hours to 52 hours per week), including through measures adopted in December 2019 to grant a “guidance period” to businesses with 50 to 299 employees and deploying “On-site Support Teams of the Reduced Workweek” at 48 local labour offices nationwide. In this regard, the Committee notes the KEF’s observations that companies would need flexible working hours systems in order to cope with the challenge of implementing the 52 hours work week. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on the reduced working hours scheme under the Labour Standards Act. It notes that the number of beneficiaries of reduced working hours during childcare period doubled between 2017 and 2019 (from 2,821 to 5,660) but that men still represent only 13.1 per cent of these beneficiaries (they were 11.4 per cent in 2017 and 14.4 per cent in 2018). The Committee also notes the constant but slow decline of the annual working hours of wage workers in businesses with five regular employees or more (down to 1,978 hours in 2019, i.e. a decrease of 3.6 per cent compared to 2016). It also notes the Government’s indication that it publicizes, through media outlets, the program allowing full-time workers to shift to part-time work when needs arise and then return to full-time work, highlighting that both men and women can convert to part-time work. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, as the demand for caring services increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it temporarily raised the amounts of benefits provided under this system of temporary shift to part-time work. The statistics provided by the Government show that 5,847 persons took advantage of this system as of June 2020, an increase of 83.6 per cent compared to the same month in 2019. The Committee notes, however, that these statistics show a decrease of the proportion of men using this system: in 2019, 17 per cent of beneficiaries were men compared to 27.8 per cent in 2018 (the temporary figure as of June 2020 being at 24.9 per cent). Finally, the Committee notes that a bill to reform the flexible hours system, based on a tripartite consensus reached within the Economic, Social and Labour Council (ESLC), was submitted to the National Assembly on 6 July 2020. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide statistics on the number of workers, disaggregated by sex, using the switchable part-time work system, and especially the number and proportion of women moving back to full-time employment after using the system to work part-time, and to provide information on the concrete measures taken to avoid concentration of women in part-time work, in the context of reconciling work and family responsibilities. Please provide information on any legislative reform of the system.

Other members of the family. Formerly, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the application of the family care leave system, including statistics. In this regard, the Committee notes with interest that Article 22-2 of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work–Family Balance Assistance Act, 2007 was amended as of August 2019 in order to: (1) add grand-parents and grand-children to the list of relatives for which family care leave can be taken; and (2) introduce a second paragraph allowing workers to request “short-term family care leave” for up to ten days per year, one day at a time (the pre-existing “family care leave” provided in the first paragraph of this article being for up to 90 days per year, to be taken by periods of 30 days minimum), with the ten days of short-term leave being deducted from the global annual allowance of 90 days. In the supplementary information provided, the Government states that this type of family care leave was increased from 10 to 20 days per year in September 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, as family care leave is agreed between the employer and the employee, there is no data in the employment insurance database and it is difficult to obtain specific figures on its usage. It adds that, in case a request for such leave is denied without justifiable reason, the employee may report the case to the Ministry of Employment and Labour, and labour inspectors would decide if the employer violated the law. If the employer fails to prove its case, an administrative fine not exceeding five million won (USD 4,000) may be imposed. However, since the introduction of the family care leave system in 2012, no fine has been imposed. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the application of the family care leave system and any legislative or policy developments in this regard, including on the increase of family care leave from 10 to 20 days per year.

Article 5. Childcare and family services and facilities. In its previous comment, the Committee asked the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the availability of and accessibility of affordable childcare services and facilities, including their utilization by workers. It notes the information and statistics provided by the Government on the subject, including the fact that the Government runs a Public Notice System for childcare centers with a view to inform parents on the offer of childcare facilities. It also notes that a child care service has been put in place whereby caregivers go to private homes to help families with children aged 12 or less where both parents are working. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide detailed information, including statistics, on childcare services and facilities, including their utilization by workers.

Article 6. Information and education. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its request for information on the actions taken to promote greater awareness, public understanding and a climate conducive to overcoming existing difficulties for men and women workers with family responsibilities, and on the way workers’ and employers’ organizations are fully integrated into the development, monitoring and updating of work–family balance measures. It notes the Government’s indication that it carries out consulting services, education programs and public campaigns, offers workplace education and holds family-friendly business management forums. Regional family-friendly councils, created to promote family-friendly practices in society, select issues reflecting local situations and conduct cooperative projects such as organizing joint campaigns and forums, utilizing skilled regional workforce and offering consulting services. As of 2019, 14 councils are operating in 15 cities and provinces. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the actions taken to promote greater awareness, public understanding and a climate conducive to work-life balance.

Article 7. Vocational guidance and training. The Committee notes that, in reply to the Committee’s previous request, the Government indicates that new job centers for women offer customized training courses in sectors with high demand for workers to women who have taken a career break. It also notes the statistics disaggregated by occupational sector provided.

Article 11. Employers’ and workers’ organizations. In its previous comment, the Committee asked the Government to provide detailed information on the activities of the Public–Private Work-Family Balance Council and its recommendations relating specifically to workers with family responsibilities and to provide a copy of its annual report if any. It notes the Government’s indication that the Council does not publish a report but that it made ten proposals for workplace innovation, in order to promote a culture that values a healthy work-life balance and improve work productivity, among which: reducing unnecessary overtime work, refraining from contacting employees after work, promoting the use of flexible work, promoting a healthy after-work company gathering culture and promoting the use of annual leave. The Committee asks the Government to indicate if, and how, these proposals were implemented and the results obtained, in particular on the percentage of men seizing all these opportunities to participate more equitably in the sharing of family responsibilities. Please provide information on any other initiative taken by the Public-Private Work-Family Balance Council.

Enforcement. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to provide: (1) information on the supervisory authorities and enforcement mechanisms giving effect to the provisions of the Convention, as well as any administrative or judicial decisions relating to the application of the Convention; and (2) information that may enable the Committee to assess how the principles of the Convention are applied in practice and how progress is being made. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning workplace guidance and inspection as well as the handling of reported cases. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information, including statistics, on the cases handled by the supervisory authorities and enforcement mechanisms.

The Committee draws the attention of the Government to its general observation adopted in 2019, recalling the relevance, importance and practical usefulness of the principles laid down in the Convention, and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 165), whose aim is to ensure that all workers with family responsibilities – women as well as men – are not disadvantaged in relation to other workers and, in particular, that women with family responsibilities are not disadvantaged in comparison to men with family responsibilities. Recalling the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work’s aim to achieve gender equality at work through a transformative agenda and stressing the importance of the Convention in achieving this goal, the Committee called for member States, and employers’ and workers’ organizations, to strengthen efforts towards specific goals.