South Korea: Minister defends more work for mothers – 09/03/2023 – Market

South Korea’s labor minister said on Thursday that raising the limit on weekly working hours from 52 to 69 would give working mothers more options and help them raise children, amid growing concerns about the decline in the country’s birth rates.

The government says allowing workers to accumulate overtime in exchange for later time off means that people who want to take longer breaks – such as fathers and mothers or caregivers – will be able to do so.

“We will take bold steps to help reduce working hours during pregnancy or while raising children,” the minister, Lee Jung-sik, told a news conference when asked whether the proposed labor reform will help tackle the crisis of fertility in South Korea.

Critics of the measure, however, said they would hurt, not help, working mothers and other women.

“While men will work long hours and be exempt from caregiving responsibilities and rights, women will have all the work of caring for children,” the United Association of Korean Women said in a recent statement.

South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world -0.78 in 2022. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday ordered “bold measures” to improve the country’s fertility rate.

The ministry said the labor reform proposal, first presented in December and officially announced on Monday (6), is part of efforts to bring more labor flexibility and improve the balance between personal and professional life in a country where many women are forced to choose between a professional career and raising children.

It would replace a 2018 law that capped the workweek at 52 hours — 40 hours of regular work plus 12 hours of overtime. The Ministry of Labor and Employment said the law made the job market more rigid.

While the measure was welcomed by business interest groups, it was criticized by the opposition and unions for neglecting workers’ rights.

“It will legalize work from 9am to midnight for five days in a row. There is no concern for workers’ health and rest,” the Korean Trade Union Confederation said in a statement.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, which has a parliamentary majority, said on Wednesday that his party would block the bill.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves.