A candidate site for a new semiconductor production cluster / Courtesy of Gwangju metropolitan city government
The nation's two major umbrella labor unions on Monday strongly condemned the government's alleged move to relax the 52-hour workweek rule for a new semiconductor production cluster to be built in the southwestern city of Gwangju.
The Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions issued a joint statement vowing to block the proposed special law that would exempt some white-collar workers in the Gwangju cluster from the 52-hour workweek rule and introduce other labor deregulation measures there.
The labor unions then demanded a meeting with President Lee Jae Myung to discuss the issue.
The special law, reportedly disclosed by the labor ministry to some ruling party lawmakers last week, included a plan to exempt managers and researchers in the top 3 percent of income earners from the 52-hour workweek limit, as well as overtime, night and holiday work allowances, and instead provide them with fixed allowances.
