The panorama of Korea’s labor unions, centered on manufacturing employees at giant companies, is shaking. Not like the general union group price that has been rising as a pattern, the union group price at giant companies has dropped to half the extent in 9 years. Evaluation suggests that is the results of a mix of reducing union members as a consequence of manufacturing unit automation and the arrival of retirement age, together with the tough scenario for younger folks to enter giant companies.
In response to the nationwide labor union group standing introduced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 4th, the ratio of union members at workplaces with 300 or extra staff final 12 months recorded 35.1% (1.109589 million folks). That is the bottom degree ever. When the group price for workplaces with 300 or extra staff was first publicly disclosed in 2015, it was 62.9%. In comparison with 2015, it has been nearly halved in 9 years. The group price, which maintained the 50% line till 2019, recorded 49.2% in 2020. Two years later in 2022, it fell to 36.9%, and final 12 months it dropped to the 35% line for the primary time.
The group price for workplaces with 300 or extra staff reveals a contrasting pattern from the general union group price, which has step by step risen. The general union group price was trapped on the 10% line from 2010 to 2017, then rose to 11.8% in 2017 and as much as 14.2% in 2020-2021. Since 2022, it has maintained 13% for 3 consecutive years.
Consultants cite the retirement of standard full-time child boomers as the primary motive for the decline in group charges at workplaces with 300 or extra staff. Following the retirement of the primary child increase era born between 1955-1963, the retirement of the second child increase era born between 1964-1974 is starting. Park Ji-soon, professor at Korea College Regulation College, defined, “The primary pillar of huge company unions is manufacturing employees at giant companies who’ve been engaged in union actions because the Nineties. The gradual exit of employees of their 50s, together with them, has created the lower in giant company group charges.”
Manufacturing unit automation is pointed to because the second motive. Manufacturing unit automation has had the impact of restructuring by lowering present manufacturing employees. Jung Heung-joon, professor within the Enterprise Administration Division at Seoul Nationwide College of Science and Know-how, mentioned, “Manufacturing employees at giant companies have been tremendously diminished in comparison with the previous as a consequence of manufacturing unit automation. To the extent that they’ve been diminished, younger folks couldn’t get jobs at giant companies. The size of recent hiring at giant companies has been tremendously diminished to the purpose the place we are able to say that open recruitment has disappeared.”
Because the group price for workplaces with 300 or extra staff decreases, non-regular employees and employees in particular types of employment (particular employment) are anticipated to have a better place in each the present union panorama and the employment market. In response to a current announcement by the Nationwide Knowledge Company, as of August, there have been 8.568 million non-regular employees, accounting for 38.2% of all wage employees. The Korea Labor and Society Institute estimated the scale of non-regular employees to be as much as 9.29 million.
Nonetheless, in keeping with authorities statistics, the union membership price for non-regular employees was only one% final 12 months. Non-regular employees and particular employment employees have unstable employment sorts and comparatively low wage ranges. It’s tough to interact in secure union actions like common full-time employees at giant companies. The truth that our union panorama is structured round giant company common staff and the general public sector has additionally made union actions tough for non-regular employees and particular employment employees. Prof. Jung suggested, “Though it’s not clearly captured in authorities statistics, non-regular union members are steadily growing. The federal government also needs to give attention to defending small-scale office employees, non-regular employees, particular employment employees, and platform employees who aren’t organized into unions fairly than employees organized into unions.”
