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| President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a luncheon meeting with CEOs of companies, which contributed to job creation, at Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential compound, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Jun Ji-hye
President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered government officials, Tuesday, to review a proposed reform to the country's maximum weekly working hours system, which, if implemented, will see an increase to the current 52-hour workweek.
The order comes amid growing controversies over the government's plans, announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on March 6. The proposed changes will enable companies to increase the maximum weekly work hours to 69 hours during weeks with heavy workloads, and allow workers to take longer vacations later on.
Such measures were proposed as employers had complained of what they claim was a lack of flexibility in working hours and difficulties in meeting deadlines.
However, laborers as well as several experts claimed that employees will be forced to work longer hours, while longer vacations can barely be guaranteed, as stated in the government's revision.
"The government should listen carefully to a variety of opinions from laborers, especially from younger generations, and review the proposed measures to see if anything needs to be improved," Yoon was quoted as saying by senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye.
On the same day, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also tried to settle controversies over the government's work hours proposal, saying that offering a choice ― through agreements between employers and employees ― of more hours during weeks with heavy workloads and fewer hours during weeks with less work, was the core of the revised measures.
"The health of workers will be protected if they work hard during the peak season and get enough rest afterward," Han said in a Cabinet meeting.
The prime minister vowed to keenly monitor issues facing laborers and react strongly against any cases involving delays in the payment of wages or overtime pay as well as employers' refusal to give break times for workers.
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