The government will draw up administrative guidelines that can be applied immediately at workplaces, rather than enacting a separate presidential decree, to define the scope of "labor disputes" under the amended Trade Union Act, known as the Yellow Envelope Law. The move follows repeated instructions from President Lee Jae-myung to set out specific standards that would reduce confusion between labor and management as the law takes effect.
The Presidential Office said in a notice to the media on the 28th that it intends to establish guidelines that can be applied immediately on the ground, rather than a decree that would take more than three months through public notice of proposed rules and regulatory review, even though the effect at workplaces would be similar. It added that it would monitor changes on the ground after the guidelines take effect and consider other options if necessary.
At a Cabinet meeting on the 21st of last month, Lee had instructed the Ministry of Employment and Labor to draw up specific standards to minimize uncertainty at industrial sites stemming from the law. He repeated the instruction at a Cabinet meeting on the 11th, telling the ministry to actively review subordinate legislation such as presidential decrees and enforcement rules.
At the center of what the government seeks to clarify is the scope of "labor disputes," which the law expanded. The current Trade Union Act covers not only disagreements between labor and management over existing working conditions such as wages, working hours, welfare and dismissals, but also over "business management decisions that affect working conditions." Disputes arising from an employer's clear violation of a collective agreement also fall within the scope.
Against that backdrop, uncertainty has persisted at workplaces over how far management decisions such as corporate investment or business restructuring can become subject to labor disputes. As controversy grew in particular over whether large-scale investment decisions or performance pay fall within the scope of collective bargaining and industrial action, Lee has stressed the need for clearer criteria.
Following the president's instructions, the Ministry of Employment and Labor had reviewed whether to enact a decree to further specify the scope of labor disputes. But it concluded that setting standards through a decree would be a stretch, given that the amended Trade Union Act contains no provision specifically delegating the matter to subordinate legislation, according to sources. The ministry has since been discussing with the Presidential Office a plan to supplement its existing interpretive guidelines, sources said. The Presidential Office plans to first improve predictability over what can be subject to labor disputes through the supplemented guidelines and to minimize confusion at industrial sites.
