By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

The government on Monday decided not to lift a ban on strikes by civil servants, although it will allow them to organize labor unions.

The Labor Ministry and the ruling Uri Party on Monday announced that they had finalized a draft bill designed to legalize public workers’ trade unions without giving them the right to call strikes or engage in political activities.

Ministry officials said the bill will be presented to the plenary session of the National Assembly this fall in order to gain approval.

Public servants immediately protested the bill, calling on the government to fully guarantee their labor rights, including the right to collective action.

According to the bill, civil employees will be entitled to organize and bargain collectively, but will be strictly banned from staging walkouts.

``We’ve decided to continue to ban strikes by government employees because of concerns that collective action would cause not only public inconvenience but also a halt of administrative services. Their political activities will be also banned in order to ensure their neutrality,’’ a ministry official said during a new conference.

But civil servants will be able to negotiate over salary, welfare, and other working conditions.

Except high-ranking officials and other civil servants like teachers who already have basic labor rights, about 300,000 to 350,000 among the nation’s 910,000 public servants will enjoy the new rights if the bill becomes law.

Even though the Constitution acknowledges workers’ rights in collective action, laws on the establishment of labor unions have prohibited public workers from forming labor organizations or engaging in collective action.

However, about 140,000 civil servants have organized two unauthorized unions since 2002, calling for the full guarantee of their rights.

After the announcement of the government plan, the public servants’ groups and other labor unions voiced opposition to the bill, saying it does not grant them the rights they need.

``If our agreements on a pay raise can’t be reflected in the budget, which is the source of our wage, it means nothing and union members will not unite together,’’ said Seo Hyong-taek, director of the Korean Government Employees’ Union (KGEU), one of the unauthorized civil servants’ unions.

``Moreover, the bill restricts the rights to stage legal strikes. Even though public opinion is not in favor of demonstrations these days, basic rights still cannot be withheld,’’ Seo said.

The KGEU plans to resist passage of the bill, staging a massive strike around November if necessary. It will also seek aid from lawmakers of the pro-labor Democratic Labor Party, Seo said.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr