Ruling Party Mulling Revision of Temp Workers’ Law

The ruling Grand National Party yesterday said it will reconsider revision of the law on protecting non-regular workers from the ground up.

“We will not only focus on a delay in the law’s revision, but also form a task force to get to the bottom of the issue,” party floor leader Ahn Sang-soo told a party meeting. “We will hold a government-ruling party meeting with the Labor Ministry this week and come up with fundamental solutions.”

Ahn is expected to address the plight of temporary workers by seeking to remove discrimination against such workers or raising them to permanent status in return for postponing the law’s implementation to prevent layoffs of temporary workers.

The party, however, said it has not given up its basic line that postpones for 18 months the application of the temporary workers’ law. Ahn said in a briefing, “We mean that we’ll also address the fundamental issue, not give up the postponement itself.”

A source from the party’s policymaking committee said, “Since the law has been implemented, we found the delayed proposal unpersuasive and decided to find fundamental solutions.”

The party will check the problems in the wake of the law’s implementation and come up with support measures.

gaea@donga.com