노동당-민주노총 정책협약 체결… "노동권·공공성 강화, 평등한 지역사회 전환 약속"

Ahead of the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections, the Labor Party and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) have officially entered into a policy agreement. At the agreement ceremony held at the Labor Party headquarters on May 14th at 2 p.m., Labor Party Vice Chairman Kim Sung-bong and KCTU Senior Vice Chairman Lee Tae-hwan attended and officially agreed to make labor rights and publicness enhancement, as well as the transition to an equal local community, the core issues for the upcoming June 3 local elections.

This agreement was made in a format where the KCTU proposed local government-level policy and institutional improvement tasks, which the Labor Party promised to realize and promote. The key contents of the agreement are as follows:

- Designing labor policies based on basic labor rights
- Expanding publicness in care, healthcare, transportation, and education
- Resolving blind spots and expanding quality jobs
- Achieving climate justice
- Ensuring the life and safety of workers and citizens
- Halting indiscriminate labor administration outsourcing and the enactment of a special law to stop the infringement of labor rights
- Amending the Industrial Cluster Act to ensure worker participation in industrial zone policies
- Establishing an industrial zone joint safety and health management system and amending the Industrial Safety and Health Act
- Amending waste management laws to ensure the health rights of municipal cleaning workers
- Enacting the Basic Law on Life Safety for independent investigation of major civilian disasters

Labor Party Vice Chairman Kim Sung-bong emphasized the significance of the agreement, stating that "in the era of compound crises, labor rights and publicness are two very important pillars." He pointed out examples such as the case where labor activist Seo Kwang-seok lost his life due to the intervention of public power in labor activities under the Lee Jae-myung administration, and the reality of not recognizing the principle of direct employment even after the revision of Article 2 of the Labor Standards Act, criticizing that "although Korea has become an advanced country, the situation regarding labor rights is still bleak."

Regarding the issue of publicness in care, he also mentioned that "although the government has implemented integrated care policies, the budget sizes vary by local government and are only around 2 to 3 billion, which is grossly insufficient," and introduced that the Labor Party considers universal basic services as a right and a major policy focus.

KCTU Senior Vice Chairman Lee Tae-hwan expressed regret for not clearly formulating a policy to support progressive parties to achieve the eradication of internal subversion and social transformation in the upcoming elections. However, he noted that the policies shared in this agreement are "contents that progressive parties and the KCTU have pondered together for a long time," expressing that there will be a broad consensus. He added, "I hope this agreement ceremony will be an opportunity for union members to take an interest in progressive politics and become partners in practicing together even after the local elections."

The Labor Party is approaching this local election with the core principles of "more equality, deeper democracy, and broader publicness." Their top 10 pledges include expanding public hospitals and introducing a resident doctor system, increasing the ratio of public housing and introducing a fair rental system, guaranteeing transportation rights and energy basic rights, expanding public renewable energy, strengthening chemical safety management, ensuring labor rights for all workers and implementing local government responsibility job security, guaranteeing a 4-day workweek and a living wage, establishing a gender equality country, realizing equality and human rights ordinances, and institutionalizing democratic participation of residents.

📝 Brief Summary:
The Labor Party and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) have agreed on key issues for the upcoming local elections. The agreement focuses on labor rights, publicness enhancement, and equal local community transition. Specific policies include labor rights protection, public service expansion, quality job creation, climate justice, and worker safety.

🗣️ Natural Korean Translation:
제9회 지방선거를 앞두고 노동당과 대한민국노동조합총연맹(KCTU)이 정책 합의에 서명했습니다. 합의는 노동권, 공공성 강화, 그리고 평등한 지역사회 전환을 중심으로 하며, 구체적인 정책으로 노동권 보호, 공공서비스 확대, 질 좋은 일자리 창출, 기후 정의, 그리고 근로자 안전 등이 포함되어 있습니다.

❓ Comprehension Questions:
1. What are the core issues that the Labor Party and KCTU agreed to focus on for the upcoming local elections?
핵심 문제는 노동당과 KCTU가 다가오는 지방선거에서 중점을 두기로 합의한 것은 무엇입니까?
2. How did the Labor Party and KCTU decide to work together to realize the agreed-upon policies?
노동당과 KCTU는 합의된 정책을 실현하기 위해 어떻게 협력하기로 결정했습니까?
3. According to Labor Party Vice Chairman Kim Sung-bong, why are labor rights and publicness important in the current era?
노동당 부의장 김성봉에 따르면, 현재 시대에 노동권과 공공성이 왜 중요한가요?

💡 Vocabulary Learning:
1. labor rights (노동권, noun)
- The rights that protect workers in their workplaces.
- 근로자들을 직장에서 보호하는 권리들입니다.
- Labor rights are essential for ensuring fair treatment of employees.
- 노동권은 직원들의 공정한 대우를 보장하기 위해 필수적입니다.

2. publicness (공공성, noun)
- The quality of being open to or shared by the public.
- 대중에게 공개되거나 공유되는 특성입니다.
- Publicness in government services ensures transparency and accountability.
- 정부 서비스의 공공성은 투명성과 책임성을 보장합니다.

3. institutional (제도적인, adjective)
- Relating to an organization or establishment.
- 조직이나 설립과 관련된 것입니다.
- Institutional changes are necessary to address systemic issues.
- 제도적 변화는 체계적인 문제를 해결하기 위해 필요합니다.

4. consensus (합의, noun)
- General agreement among a group of people.
- 사람들 사이의 일반적인 합의입니다.
- The decision was made based on a consensus reached by all members.
- 결정은 모든 구성원들이 도달한 합의에 기반을 두었습니다.

5. progressive (진보적인, adjective)
- Favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform.
- 진보, 변화, 개선, 또는 개혁을 선호하거나 지지하는 것입니다.
- The party's progressive policies aim to create a more equitable society.
- 정당의 진보적인 정책은 보다 공정한 사회를 만들기 위해 목표를 두고 있습니다.

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