Labor ministry opens three-day public-sector labor relations course

The labor ministry said its training arm will launch a three-day labor relations course for public-institution employees on Sept. 30, combining case studies with legal issues and discussion of how workplace disputes are handled.

The Korea Employment and Labor Education Institute said the second session of its Public Institution Labor Relations Understanding course is designed to strengthen employees' grasp of labor relations and their capacity to respond on the ground. About 1,500 public-institution employees take part in the institute's 30 labor education sessions each year.

The course pairs theory with casework and debate, asking participants to examine labor relations at Korean public institutions and to discuss current disputes and possible responses against the issues and experience of their own organizations. "Under Employment and Labor Education 2.0, public-institution labor relations require an understanding of systems and laws as well as a process of understanding the various positions in the field and building trust," institute president Lee Jong-sun said. "The institute will continue to strengthen professional labor education so that labor and management at public institutions can understand problems in the field together and find reasonable solutions."

The curriculum comprises seven modules covering labor issues, labor policy and labor relations; an introduction to public-institution labor relations; overseas public-sector labor relations; cases and discussion; development measures; legal disputes; and smart health management. Vice President Kim Jong-cheol will open the course with a lecture on labor issues, labor policy and labor relations, examining the background behind current labor problems and policies, the limits of those policies and the need for labor relations at the company level, and pointing to a value-creating labor relations model.

The institute, headed by Lee, is a labor education body affiliated with the Ministry of Employment and Labor.