한국 노동교육 법제화의 헌법적 정당성과 발전 방향 = Constitutional justification and developmental directions for the legislation of workers' education in Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The Lifelong Education Law Amendments (draft), which were presented at the Korean National Assembly in July 2007, allow up to 10 days of paid educational leave if desired. This draft permits trade unions to establish and manage lifelong education facilities. Paid educational leave and trade union education are core issues in the legal system of workers'' education, but they cause the labor workers, the employers, and the government to confront one another as they lobby their individual interests. This study was conducted to discuss about the constitutional justification and developmental directions for the legislation of workers'' education.

The term “workers'' education” is generally used to refer to trade union education in the U. S., the U. K., and the International Labor Organization (ILO). In Korea, on the other hand, it is broadly understood as a term that includes every type of the education related to labor such as industrial relations education, vocational training, etc. The types of workers'' education can be classified by educational service providers, including labor workers, employers and government. Workers'' education has had a long history abroad and has developed in connection with various pertinent legal system. In Korea, workers'' education first became a social system in the 1960s. However, now Korea''s legal system for workers'' education is focused on vocational training and workers'' education led by the government and employers. In the future, Korea needs more workers'' education led by labor workers.

The legislation of worker-initiated workers'' education can be justified by the Korean Constitution. All Korean citizens have “the right to pursue lifelong learning”. Article 31 Paragraph 5 of the Constitution provides the citizens with the right to demand improved education in relation to the government''s obligation to promote lifelong education. The citizens have the right to receive human and material(time, space, and finance) resources to pursue continuing education from the government. Other basic human rights, such as the right to work, freedom of occupation, equal education rights, and the principles of welfare state and cultural state, can justify the legislation of worker-initiated workers'' education.

The first step toward developing the legal system for workers'' education is the legislation of trade union education. This step is to establish additional educational facilities(trade unions) in order to secure labor workers'' right to pursue lifelong learning(education). However, in reality, the Education Law and the Lifelong Education Law cannot be applied to trade union education directly. Therefore, it is necessary to allow trade unions to have affiliated lifelong education facilities or have specific provisions to apply the Education Law and the Lifelong Education Law to trade union education.

The second step toward developing the legal system for workers'' education is the legislation of paid educational leave. This step is to provide time(leave) and wages(paid) for education(learning) in order to secure labor workers'' right to pursue lifelong learning. However, the Employment Insurance Law makes its “paid leave training system” employer-centered and unequal. In addition, “the learning leave system” of the Lifelong Education Law is a provisional item that is rarely practiced in real life. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize paid educational leave as a definite right and its scope should be expanded.

The Lifelong Education Law Amendments(draft) can be justified as follow. First, the Amendments(Article 24-2) authorize trade unions to establish affiliated lifelong education facilities. As trade unions are politically neutral and the government''s administrative and financial support relates to discretionary items, it is possible to admit the constitutional justification for the legislation of trade union education as long as this do not violate others'' basic hu

국문 초록 (Abstract)

2007년 국회에서 제안된 평생교육법개정법률(안)은 노동교육 법제화의 핵심 문제라고 할 수 있는 유급학습휴가제 및 노동조합교육에 관한 내용을 담고 있다. 한국에서 광의로 이해되는 노동교육의 법제는 정부와 사용자 주도의 경우에 편중된 모습을 보이고 있다. 향후 보다 요청되는 노동자 주도의 노동교육 법제화를 헌법적으로 정당화시킬 수 있는 근거로서는 평생학습권 등 기본권과, 복지국가의 원리 등 기본원리를 들 수 있다. 또한 노동교육 법제의 발전 방향을 노동조합 및 노동자 개인 주도의 노동교육 법제화, 즉 노동조합교육 및 유급학습휴가제의 법제화라는 측면으로 나누어 평생교육법, 교육기본법, 고용보험법 등 관련 법제를 통해 살펴볼 수 있다. 나아가 개정법률(안)에서는 노동조합을 부설 평생교육시설의 설치자로서 인정하고, 노동자 개인을 유급학습휴가권의 주체로 인정한다. 이는 구체적인 검토를 통해서 헌법상 정당화가 가능하다고 할 수 있으며, 추가적인 개선안을 함께 제시할 수 있다. 이러한 논의를 통해 평생학습사회에서 한국의 노동교육 법제가 산업민주주의 및 교육복지주의를 추구하는 헌법적 가치 실현에 부합할 수 있는 것이다.