The Federation of Korean Industries (KFI), a major business lobby group in South Korea, said that it submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Employment and Labour asking for permission to hire replacement workers during strikes and to prohibit the illegal occupation of business sites by unionised workers, reports Korea Times. The proposal, titled ‘improvement plan for establishing a balanced labour-management relationship’, includes allowing substitute workers in case of strikes, prohibiting illegal occupations of workplaces during labour walkouts, improving what businesses claim are unfair labour practices, expanding the validity period of collective agreements and improving the voting procedure for strikes.

The FKI pointed out that in the event of a strike, employers cannot use replacement workers such as new hires, subcontracted laborers or dispatched personnel. The business lobby group said this causes companies to suffer production disruptions and penalties for non-compliance with contracts.

Recently, in the UK, a controversial law was put in place in July that aims to allow businesses impacted by industrial action to plug staffing gaps with agency workers.