외국인 근로자에 관한 노동법적 쟁점과 대안 — 조선업 외국인 근로자의 체류자격과 최저임금 등을 중심으로 —

Abstract

The manpower shortage in the manufacturing industry including shipbuilding is very serious. The government is improving the foreign manpower employment policy and preparing support measures. However, various problems related to the payment of wages for foreign workers are emerging. First, despite performing the same or similar type of work, foreign workers are subject to different standards to determine their wages, which vary depending on the type of visa and the size of their employer, which can lead to an unreasonable wage gap. Next, the current minimum wage system prohibits discrimination on the grounds of nationality in order to guarantee universal basic labor rights. However, for this reason, contradictory situations arise in which differences in efficiency or skill level between foreign and domestic workers are not properly reflected. Policies and systems governing the use of foreign workers need to be fundamentally transformed to respond to changes in industrial and demographic structures. Ways to improve the system of status of stay and wage payment standards for foreign workers in the shipbuilding industry can be summarized as follows. First, it is necessary to apply a clear distinction between E-7 and E-9 visas within the shipbuilding business. Second, on the premise of foreign workers holding E-9 improving their skills, it is necessary to find a way to systematically convert their visa status to E-7. Third, the GNI wage standard for E-7 visa holders, which is currently applied differently according to various special provisions, needs to be unified. Fourth, it is necessary to factor the accommodation and meal expenses of foreign workers into calculating the minimum wage amounts. In the future, Korea’s dependence on foreign workers is expected to increase. Accordingly, efforts to continuously improve the management system and working conditions for foreign workers are needed. Among them, the improvement of foreign workers’ residency status and wage payment standards is a very urgent and important task.