Labour practices in South Africa and Korea : a comparative study against international labour organisation standards

M.Comm.The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast, through a literature review, the compliance of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Republic of South Africa to the minimum labour standards of the International Labour Standards (ILO). The minimum standards are established as the core labour standards, embodied in the eight fundamental conventions. The ROK and South Africa’s labour laws and labour practices are benchmarked against the ILO’s International Labour Standards (ILS) in order to compare these practices and to establish if these labour standards comply with the minimum standards set by the ILO. The propositions stated are: that the ROK and South African labour standards differ, that South African labour standards comply with the minimum labour standards of the ILO; and that ROK labour standards do not comply with the minimum standards of the ILO. The propositions were verified. The ILO standards are described in order to identify the minimum rules set by the core labour standards as embodied in the eight fundamental conventions. The two countries’ labour relations histories, labour laws, labour relations institutions and rule making strategies are described as part of the labour practices in these countries. The labour practices in each country are analysed and benchmarked against the ILO ILS in order to identify an inconsistency between law and practice. In South Africa, the Constitution includes all international laws when interpreting South African law. The only exceptions are when the Constitution or when an act of Parliament specifically excludes the contents of such a law. The conclusion is that South Africa complies with ILO ILS. In the ROK, the labour practices such as the right to the freedom of association and collective bargaining of non-permanent workers, as well as the exclusion of certain categories of workers are areas of concern