In general, a dual labour market is one in which the labour market is divided into two markets with qualitative differences in working conditions, such as wages and job security. The term ‘dual labour market’ also implies that the labour market is...
In general, a dual labour market is one in which the labour market is divided into two markets with qualitative differences in working conditions, such as wages and job security. The term ‘dual labour market’ also implies that the labour market is divided into a primary labour market that provides high-quality jobs that most people aspire to, and a secondary labour market that is relatively poor in terms of wages and fringe benefits.
Against this background, the government is committed to addressing this issue in a number of ways, including ‘labour reform’. The causes of the dual labour market, in particular the disparity in solvency between large and small enterprises, are deeply rooted in our unique economic and industrial structure (prior to legislation and practice) and cannot be solved by improving employment and labour law and practice alone. The causes of the dual structure of the labour market are complex and multi-faceted, involving many areas of law (labour law, antitrust law, industrial law, financial law, international trade law, etc.) and ministries (Ministry of Employment and Labour, Fair Trade Commission, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, etc.
The study focuses on five issues: (1) modernization of individual labour relations laws, with a focus on ensuring comprehensiveness and universality of application beyond employees and reducing the rigidity of one-size-fits-all regulations; (2) advancement of the dispatch system (protecting discriminated against subcontracted workers after they change their employment status to non-discriminated against dispatch workers) and strengthening the system for correcting discrimination based on employment status;, (3) improving the system for resolving wage arrears, (4) promoting the reform of the wage system to one that is linked to job duties and skills, and (5) identifying legal and institutional measures to improve the system for ensuring fair trade among large, medium, and small enterprises.
In the case of ⑤, it is considered that reducing the gap in workers' working conditions is a practical prerequisite for promoting more transparent, equal and fair (transactional) relations between large and small enterprises, which is a typical cause of the dual structure of the labour market. The next step was to focus on temporary agency work (②) as a rational alternative to the use of external labour dependent on contractors whose business is effectively the supply of personnel. The reasoning behind this is that it can be expected to have a similar effect in solving problems in situations where it is difficult to make immediate
changes to the core labour law system, such as Korea's unique industrial and economic structure and employment security (flexibility). Against this institutional background, we will also examine the problems and challenges of the wage system, which is one of the causes of the difficulty of intra-labour market mobility and the lack of correspondence between workers' wages and productivity (④). Next, we look at the problem of wage arrears, which is rarely encountered in the primary labour market, but mainly in the secondary labour market, and is a problem that widens the gap between the two. We will examine the causes of this problem, which consumes most of the administrative capacity of labour inspectors, and how it can be improved institutionally and policy-wise. Finally, but first and foremost, we examine what is needed to modernize the current Labour Standards Act from the perspective of the problem that it may play a role in deepening the dual structure of the labour market while at the same time protecting workers. The analysis is guided by the principle that, in addition to industrial structure and market conditions, the dual structure of the labour market should not be exacerbated institutionally.
Keyword : labor market dualization, modernization of Labor Standards Act, agency work regulation, wage claim guarantee, wage system / wage structure, fair trade / competition law