A major business lobby group said Monday that it will push for diverse efforts to encourage its member companies to adopt a flexible working system that it expects could result in more leisure time for workers and eventually more consumer spending down the road.
In a related move, the Federation of Korean Industries, which represents the interest of large conglomerates, said it will send an official notice to heads of its member companies to adopt the flexible working system in a way that would help boost domestic demand.
The FKI, one of the largest business lobby groups here, said that it will also introduce the flexible working hour system for its own employees this week, allowing them to choose their own daily schedules.
The flexible working system allows employees to choose their work hours on a daily and weekly basis so that they can handle their personal affairs such as childcare and leisure activities.
An FKI poll showed that 15 business groups out of the top 30 in terms of assets said that at least one of their subsidiaries has adopted flexible working hours for their employees. They include Samsung, SK, LG, Lotte and POSCO.
Most of them allow their workers to choose their work schedules every one, three or six months. Six of them adopted flexible working hours for only non-production workers, while five restrict it to office workers and researchers. Three companies made it available only to those who have childcare needs, the poll showed.
The proposal came as Asia’s fourth-largest economy is reeling from anemic domestic demand hit by the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
Since the country reported its first case on May 20, nearly 16,700 people have been subject to isolation for possible infection. So far, 16,231 have been released after showing no symptoms of MERS for more than the known maximum incubation period of 14 days.
In June, the Bank of Korea cut its base rate by a quarter percentage point to a record low of 1.5 percent to cope with weakened private spending.
The government also proposed a 12 trillion won extra budget to prop up the slowing recovery momentum. (Yonhap)
