Talks on wage gaps for public-sector contract workers to begin in earnest

The government will begin substantive sector-by-sector discussions aimed at narrowing wage gaps and improving working conditions for public-sector contract workers. Six sector-level councils under the Public Service Workers Committee will begin operation this month, and the results of a public-sector wage survey will be released in the fourth week of November.

The government announced Tuesday that it had completed the formation of the six sector-level councils within the Public Service Workers Committee and that they would begin full operation this month. The councils were constituted through discussions among labor, government and expert representatives following the committee's launch on Sept. 18.

The six councils cover central government agencies, local governments, education institutions, public institutions, privately outsourced services and subsidiary companies. A relevant ministry will serve as the lead coordinating ministry on each council. The councils plan to discuss a broad agenda — including eliminating discrimination against public-sector contract workers and improving their treatment — while reflecting on-the-ground perspectives and the characteristics of each sector.

The public institutions council will have two sub-panels handling central and local public institutions separately. The privately outsourced services council also plans to run separate sub-panels for care services and household waste collection, reflecting the distinct nature of those roles.

The first meeting was held Thursday by the central government agencies council. Meetings for local governments and subsidiary companies follow Wednesday, with education institutions on Friday, public institutions on Nov. 18 and privately outsourced services on Nov. 19. The central and local sub-panel meetings under the public institutions council are scheduled for Nov. 20 and Nov. 24, respectively.

The government plans to release the results of a "public-sector contract and non-regular workers' wage survey" at a development council meeting within the Public Service Workers Committee during the fourth week of November. Starting next year, the government intends to expand the scope to include privately outsourced workers and conduct regular surveys on the size, job categories and wage structures of contract workers, using the findings to support sector-level discussions.

The government estimates there are 338,000 public-sector contract and fixed-term workers in total — 232,000 contract workers and 106,000 fixed-term workers. Adding 195,000 privately outsourced workers brings the estimated total to about 533,000. However, the figure for privately outsourced workers comes from a Ministry of Employment and Labor survey on privately outsourced public-sector services conducted in December 2018.

Kwon Chang-jun, vice minister of Employment and Labor and working-level chair of the Public Service Workers Committee, said the government would do its utmost as a "model employer" to produce meaningful outcomes — including closing significant wage gaps in the public sector — through in-depth discussions among labor, government and expert representatives grounded in objective data.