As the record is expected to be broken, criticism has been raised that the government may be ignoring discrimination and unfair treatment of employees taking parental leave in the workplace.
On the 1st, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) received a notice of workplace power harassment through Democratic Party lawmaker Jang Chul-min.
According to the data from the Ministry of Labor, from January 1 to June 20 of this year, the number of reports of violations of pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing-related laws received by the Ministry of Labor was 287, and only 25 cases (8.9%) were found to be illegal.
Of these, only eight cases (2.8%) resulted in prosecution or imposition of fines. On the other hand, the cases were closed with reasons such as "absent twice," "no intention to report," "no illegality found," "withdrawn," and "dismissed."
The number of reported cases was 226, accounting for 81.2%. Even if the period was extended to 2020, the number of penalties was negligible. In fact, the number of reported cases between January 1, 2020 and June 20, 2024 was 23.
Of these, 129 cases (5.6%) were indicted or fined. The Maternity Protection Act is a general term for bills that include provisions on maternity protection at the workplace, and is a law that stipulates the Labor Standards Act and the Employment Law.
The Labor Standards Act is a representative example. Article 74 of the Labor Standards Act includes provisions regarding leave before and after childbirth (including stillbirth) and protection during pregnancy and childbirth.
According to the report, △No leave before or after childbirth was granted △Refusal to use leave before or after childbirth in installments △Leave given/stillbirth not granted △Unpaid wages during leave before or after childbirth
△ Refusal to offer overtime work during pregnancy and easy transfer to other types of work
Violation of the law will result in imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won. Refusal to return to work after maternity leave will result in a fine of up to 5 million won.
Refusal to shorten the pregnancy period or refusal to change the start and end times of work during pregnancy will result in a fine of up to 5 million won.
Workplace Power Harassment 119 introduced complaints from company employees who had been treated unfairly during parental leave and other such reasons.
One company employee said, "When I said I was going to take parental leave, the CEO started spreading rumors about me among the employees. I told him that if he was worried about the stress I would experience during the early stages of pregnancy, he should just give me unemployment benefits, and then I resigned."
"You should do it. That's why companies don't hire women," she said. Another employee said, "When I took maternity leave and returned to work, I was refused reinstatement and my employment contract was far from what I had agreed to.
"The government should be more proactive in holding employers accountable for proof and instituting a system of maternal and paternal protection," said Kim Seok, an activist with the Workplace Power Harassment 119 group.
"We should actively carry out special labor inspections of businesses that repeatedly report violations," said Rep. Jang Cheol-min. "Short-term punishments for businesses that violate the system are a step in the right direction for the mother and father protection system itself."
"It is to render one's body powerless," he said, emphasizing, "Unless the government issues a firm warning against violations of the maternity and paternity protection system, the system will not take root in the field, nor will it be possible to lay the foundation for balancing work and family life."
2024/09/01 13:30 KST
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