Seoul, Nov 06: South Korea lawmakers bowing to
pressure from striking workers have agreed to drop plans to
introduce controversial Labour Reform Laws, officials said
today.
The decision came in response to a national strike
launched yesterday by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
(KCTU) in protest at the reform bills that included a five-day
week proposal that workers' representatives said was a step
backward for labour conditions.
"The environment-labour committee of the national
assembly decided to continue looking into an amendment of the
basic labour law instead of handing it over to its legislative
subcommittee," an official of the committee told a news agency.
"It means that the amendment has got stuck in the first
stage of legislation. Because of the sharp divisions between
workers and management, lawmakers do not want to push through
with the bills," the official said.
He said the decision effectively killed off any chance
of the bills becoming law in their present form.
Tens of thousands of workers launched nationwide strike
yesterday to protest the government-introduced labour reform
bills, shutting down key exporting companies. The strike was
called off when parliament decided to shelve the measures.
"We wrap up the struggle of a general strike after
forestalling the government's attempt to make labor laws
worse," the KCTU said in a statement, adding that striking
workers were back on the job yesterday.
Bureau Report
