President Lee: "We must create conditions for workers to accept employment flexibility... Sacrifices must not be forced"

According to Financial News, President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea said on the 19th, "We need to create conditions in which workers can accept the employment flexibility that companies want," stressing that it is wrong to demand unilateral sacrifices.
President Lee made these remarks at the "Labor Policy Forum with the President" held at Cheong Wa Dae to mark the launch of the first term of the Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC).
President Lee stated, "Management often points to the rigidity of employment. However, from the workers' perspective, dismissal is death. Because they feel insecure, they believe they cannot concede even a single step on employment flexibility," adding, "It is entirely understandable that both sides feel this way."
He went on to emphasize, "I believe the power of labor has not yet been sufficiently secured, so it is not right to proceed in a way that demands sacrifices from workers."
He continued, "We must create a reasonable environment that everyone can accept. One element of that is building a social safety net strong enough so that people no longer think of dismissal as death," and added, "There must be measures that go beyond merely compensating for the problems that could arise if some degree of employment flexibility is conceded, so that workers do not live in constant fear."
President Lee noted, "Strengthening the social safety net costs money, and companies will in any case benefit from greater employment flexibility. It is therefore desirable that they bear a corresponding share of the burden." He added, "For example, from the corporate side, in return for gaining more flexibility, they could move in the direction of increasing stable, regular jobs. We can turn this into a virtuous cycle. The problem, however, is the lack of trust," stressing, "Even if the current situation is difficult, the path we must take is clear. We have to restore trust."
He further added, "It is desirable to avoid a situation where progress is made at the cost of someone’s unilateral sacrifice or loss. I believe that through such social compromise, everyone can achieve a significantly better environment."

cjk@fnnews.com Choi Jong-geun, Sung Seok-woo Reporter