Three bills affecting temporary workers were blocked after a general strike led by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) on February 28 and March 2. The union federation says the bill will not improve the wages and conditions of contract and agency workers, but will instead make these workers more vulnerable. Bosses will have the flexibility to use hundreds of thousands more non-permanent workers who could be laid off within a two-year period, after which they must be made permanent. More protests are likely when parliament convenes a special session on March 20 to further review the bills.
From Green Left Weekly, March 15, 2006.
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