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[SI Report] Seoul Labor Policy_ Restoring Labor to its Proper Place in Society (2017)

Date 2017-10-17 Writer ssunha

Summary


Investment in labor issues is investment in people and their future

Let us strive for a society in which hard work is respected and hardworking people are happy

I sincerely hope that the SMG’s labor policy initiatives, such as reduced work hours, living allowances for young jobseekers, emotional labor regulations, and employee representatives, will shape and lead the public discourse on labor issues in Korea. Sustainable and successful labor policy measures can come about only through a society-wide structure of discourse in which diverse stakeholders can participate. An ideal government not only enacts and implements good policies for citizens, but should also seek and garner citizens’ consensus by setting a good example itself. Seoul has now set out to transform into a society where workers are respected and appreciated.

The prospects of this endeavor will only become stronger and brighter when the SMG listens attentively to the diverse voices and concerns of the civil society at large. - Introduction
 

List of Contents

  • Chapter I. Respect for Labor : Workers’ Rights in Seoul Today
  • Chapter II. Protection of the Rights of Part-Time Workers and the Allowances for Young Jobseekers
  • Chapter III. Transformation of Seoul: According Due Respect to Labor
  • Chapter IV. Protecting Labor at the Local Level: Centers for Workers
  • Chapter V. Seeking Answers in the SMG’s Labor Policy

About the Writer

Jong-Jin Kim

A former sociology major at the Catholic University of Korea and Sungkonghoe University, Kim has been working as a researcher at the Korea Labour & Society Institute(KLSI) since 2003. Kim’s publications to date include Working People in the Age of Polarization, Neither Presidents Nor Workers, Work Shifts and Working Hours, On Emotional Labor in the Service Sector, Contractor-Subcontractor and Labor-Management Relations in the Service Sector, among others. Kim’s topics of research include the service sector, non-regular workers, young and part-time workers, and other groups vulnerable to unfairness at work, as well as working hours, emotional labor, and the labor policies of local governments.