직장내 괴롭힘의 ILO 협약과 권고에 관한 연구

This paper examines the background and circumstances leading to the adoption of International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206 concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work. Through discussions and an evaluation of the main contents of the ILO Convention and Recommendation, this paper identifies the characteristics of workplace bullying in Korea and areas for improvement of the so-called workplace anti-bullying law that came into effect in Korea on July 16, 2019. On June 21, 2019, the ILO adopted the Violence and Harassment Convention (C190) and its accompanying Recommendation (R206), which establish the right of everyone to a world of work free of violence and harassment. In defining violence and harassment in the world of work as a range of unacceptable behaviors and practices, the Convention focuses on the harm that may be caused by violence and harassment, whether physical, psychological, sexual, or economic. It also recognizes the specificities of gender-based violence and harassment. The Convention is applicable to every sector in the formal and informal economies across rural and urban areas and covers all workers irrespective of their contractual status, including job applicants, job seekers, volunteers, trainees, interns, apprentices, and workers whose employment has been terminated. The C190 expands the concept of the world of work beyond the immediate physical workplace, covering situations linked to or arising out of work. Moreover, it demands that violence and harassment involving third parties—whether they are clients, customers, patients, or members of the public—be considered and addressed. It further requires action to mitigate the impact of domestic violence in the world of work, providing a lifeline to victims of domestic violence who might otherwise lose their jobs or be forced to choose between income and safety. Compared to the C190 and R206, the workplace anti-bullying law in Korea has room to improve. First, under the current law, only people in a workplace with five or more employees—a threshold for the application of the Labor Standard Act—can be legally protected from bullying. A further revision of the legal system is thus inevitable so that the scope of legal protection expands to include workers in workplaces with fewer than five employees, self-employed workers, and special types of employees. Second, it needs to define what gender-based harassment is. Even though Korea has a legal definition of sexual harassment, no specific understanding on gender-based harassment exists. Third, to eliminate bullying and harassment at work, it is necessary to protect people from harassment by third parties. Lastly, although the law in Korea makes provision for the establishment of guidelines or support as government’s effort to prevent bullying and harassment in the workplace, the law does not require mandatory education on workplace bullying. To institute preventive measures, it therefore needs to make education on bullying and harassment mandatory in the world of work.