Design for 'K-Labor Welfare Chamber' unveiled at National Assembly forum

85.9% of 1,400 platform workers and freelancers say labor mutual-aid body is needed

Statutory body to cover retirement savings and unemployment aid; private groups to handle rights and organizing

A delivery rider. [Herald DB]
A delivery rider. [Herald DB]

Researchers have proposed making enrollment in a retirement savings scheme mandatory for gig and platform workers in occupations heavily dependent on a single employer — starting with delivery riders and home-tutoring teachers.

Under the proposal, companies and workers would each contribute half of the savings amount to a government-backed mutual-aid body called the "K-Labor Welfare Chamber." Workers in occupations not covered by the mandatory enrollment requirement would be allowed to join on their own, without employer consent.

The proposal was presented Thursday at a policy forum on institutionalizing labor mutual aid for platform and freelance workers, hosted by the Korea Platform Freelancer Mutual Aid Association at the National Assembly Library. Jung Heung-jun, a professor at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, unveiled the institutional design at the forum. The research team also included Kwon Oh-sung, a professor at Yonsei University School of Law, Nam Woo-geun, director of the Korea Non-Regular Workers Center, and Jang Jin-hee, a senior research fellow at the Federation of Korean Trade Unions' Central Research Institute.

Starting with high-dependency occupations — tax breaks for companies, income deductions for workers

The research team proposed limiting initial enrollment to non-wage workers operating as sole contractors — including special-employment, platform and freelance workers. The rationale was that such workers face difficulty organizing unions and often fall outside the coverage of labor laws and corporate welfare programs. The team said gaps in retirement benefits for wage workers at small businesses should be addressed separately through policies such as expanding the retirement pension system.

The researchers concluded that leaving retirement savings enrollment voluntary would allow companies to opt out on cost grounds. Drawing on the model in which workers and employers split industrial accident insurance premiums equally, they proposed the same approach for retirement savings contributions. The plan calls for mandatory enrollment to begin with occupations showing high employer dependency, then expand in stages. Early-stage incentives would include tax breaks for companies and income deductions for workers.

Workers in occupations not subject to mandatory enrollment would be permitted to join voluntarily, and could do so independently even without employer participation. In such cases, the proposal recommends lower contribution rates and income deduction benefits. The team also put forward draft legislation — a Platform and Freelance Labor Mutual Aid Act — to provide the legal basis for designating mandatory-enrollment occupations and setting cost-sharing standards.

A survey conducted for the research found strong demand for both unemployment aid and retirement savings. Of 1,400 workers who had taken on platform or direct-contract work within the previous six months, 85.9 percent said a labor mutual-aid body was needed. Unemployment aid (69.6 percent) and retirement savings (61.2 percent) were cited most often as priorities for early rollout. The survey included 1,021 platform workers and 379 freelancers.

Statutory body for common benefits; private mutual-aid groups for sector welfare and rights

The research team proposed organizing the K-Labor Welfare Chamber as either a public-interest foundation or a special-purpose corporation. Designating it as a quasi-public institution — as with the Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association — would allow stable fund management but could limit operational flexibility, the team noted. Given a structure in which workers and companies build the fund with government support, the researchers concluded a public-interest foundation model would be more appropriate.

The proposal also drew a clear division of roles between the K-Labor Welfare Chamber and private mutual-aid groups. The statutory body would administer common benefits such as retirement savings and unemployment aid, and manage finances and eligibility. Private mutual-aid groups would retain their independence and handle sector-specific injury and illness coverage, rights protection and worker organizing. A "dual membership" arrangement — allowing members of the statutory body to also join a private mutual-aid group for sector-specific welfare services — was proposed as a framework for cooperation.

The team also outlined ways to secure funding and a legal foundation for private mutual-aid groups. It proposed channeling a set percentage of platform service transaction values into a welfare fund, and enshrining in law a mechanism to recognize qualifying private mutual-aid groups as statutory labor mutual-aid associations. Jung said a structure in which a central mutual-aid body handles common benefits while private groups manage sector-specific welfare and rights protection would best meet workers' needs.


fact0514@heraldcorp.com