The Grand Narrative

First, I’ll let everyone read the article itself, from Wednesday’s Focus newspaper. Luckily for me, today’s Metro chose this subject as its “An Issue Word a Day” in it’s little English vocab blurb on page 2, doing my job for me for a few of the words.

Focus 부산 2007년 9월 12일 p.3.

출산휴가 가는男

내년7월 배우자 3일 부여 ‘남녀고용평등법’등 의결

내년 7월부터 남성근로자도 배우자 출산휴가를 사용할 수 있으며, 육아휴직을 나눠 쓰거나 육아휴직대신 근로시간 단축방법도 사용할 수 있게 된다.

정부는 11일 오전 중앙청사에서 한덕수 총리 주재로 국무회의를 열어 일과 육아의 병행을 위해 이 같은 내용을 핵심으로 하는‘남녀고 용평등법’개정안 등 20여개 안건을 심의, 의결했다. 이 개정안은 그간 사업장별로 임의로 시행해 오던 남성근로자의 출산휴가를 3일간 부여하는 것으로 의무화했으며, 현행 전일제 육아휴직 대신 주 15~30시간 이내의 범위에서 근무하는 육아기 근로시간 단축을 신청할 수있도록 하고, 육아휴직이나 육아기근로시간 단축제를 1회에 한해 분할 사용할 수 있도록 하고 있다.

또 육아기 근로시간 단축을 이유로 해고나 불리한 처우를 하는 사업자의 경우 3년 이하의 징역이나  2천만원 이하의 벌금, 육아기 근로 시간 단축 종료 후 같은 업무에 복귀시키지 아니할 경우 500만원 이하의 벌금, 그리고 배우자 출산휴가를 주지 않을 경우 500만원 이하의 과태료를 부과하도록했다.

또 국제화 시대를 맞아 ▲ 회사의 설립·운영 등에 사적 자치를 폭넓게인정하는 유한책임회사 등 새로운기업형태를 도입하고 ▲무액면주식 제도의 도입과 최저자본금제도의폐지 등 상법 개정안도 심의했다.

Men on Paternity Leave

To fulfill the reguirements of the law on gender equality in the workplace, a 3 day paternity leave is to be available from next July

From next July, the spouses of women taking time off work to give birth can also take time off from work, either for the birth itself or by shortening their work hours by an equivalent amount.

On the Morning 11th of September, the prime minister Han Deok-Su, opened a session of Congress focusing on work and childcare. Congress members deliberated on a bills regarding the law on gender equality in the workplace and on 20 other matters, and passed a law that will require all workplaces to provide paternity leave to male employees. They will be given the option of either taking 3 days at the time of the birth of the child, or have their working hours reduced by 15-30 hours at alternate times when it is convenient to them. These 15-30 hours will not have to be taken all at once.

If employers use this reduction of work hours as a pretext to fire an employee or treat him unfairly, then the employer will be liable for a jail sentance of up to 3 years or a fine of 20 million won. Also, if an employee is not allowed to continue in the same postion after returning from paternity leave, or if paternity leave isn’t granted at all, then the employer will be liable for a fine of up to 5 million won.

Since we are in a globalised age, Korean companies need to introduce more scope for employee’s personal autonomy in their establishment and operations. Also discussed at the congress was the introduction into commercial law of a no-par stock system and the discarding of a minimum capital stock system.

I thought that last paragraph was a little out of place too, but no, I didn’t accidentally copy it from an adjoining article. I confess, I couldn’t figure out what a minumum capital stock system was, so no link. I’m terribly sorry.

The new paternity law is all well and hunky-dory, definately a step in the right direction, and it’s great that the Korean Congress, no less, has been discussing the issue. But just like the 200,000 won that the Busan government will grant me if I begat a third child, it’s just a drop in the bucket…it’s three days! It’s hardly revolutionary, and I seriously doubt that anyone thinks it will give much of a boost to the birth rate, which leads me to think that might not have been it’s intention.

The 15-30 hours time off work figure is confusing, but it gave me a hint about what the bill’s real purpose may have been. I think if the actual figure granted to an employee is 15, 30, or somewhere in between is a moot point, as the laws regarding working hours here are so laxy enforced that I pesonally predict that all fathers will plump to take the 3 days off instead: after all, only the most heartless of bastard employers wouldn’t be moved to give a happy father a few days off for the birth. So the new law probably just standardises what was the practice already, and so that may have been the bill’s purpose.

I seriously doubt employers will be inconvenienced at all by fathers demanding their time off from work weeks or months after the birth instead, as if Korean workers routinely work well over their legal maximum hours, as I’ve discussed recently, then I can’t imagine fathers, more concerned about keeping their jobs than ever, counting the hours off religiously and raising things with their bosses if they felt they had missed a few! So call me cynical, but I predict precisely zilch to practically change in Korean workplaces as a result of this new law.

Here’s a comparison of different countries’ parental leave provisions, if anyone’s interested.

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