The Labour Law for the Factory and Office Workers in North Korea was promulgated 75 years ago.

In Korea which was liberated from the military rule of the Japanese imperialists in August 1945, it raised as a very urgent matter to fundamentally improve the working conditions of factory and office workers and provide them with the democratic rights to work and rest.

On June 20, Juche 35 (1946), President Kim Il Sung called the 8th Session of the Provisional People’s Committee of North Korea. In his speech, titled, “On the Draft Labour Law”, he specified the inevitability and significance of the enactment of the labour law and its characters and features and made public the draft labour law. And he stressed the need to fully explain it to all political parties, social organizations and the people from all walks of life.

Based on the nationwide discussion on the draft, he promulgated the historic Labour Law for the Factory and Office Workers in North Korea on June 24.

The law stipulated the enforcement of an eight-hour workday, abolition of unequal colonial wage system, payment of equal wage for equal work according to the quality and quantity of work done irrespective of sex or age, the right to rest, introduction of labour protection and compulsory social insurance schemes, a new attitude towards labour, etc.

The labour law was the most democratic law which conformed to the character of the Korean revolution which had to carry out the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic revolution. It enjoyed absolute support from all factory and office workers in north Korea and greatly encouraged them to turn out in the efforts to build a new Korea as the masters of their country.

The Korean people’s right to work has been further consolidated with the adoption of the Socialist Constitution of the DPRK in December Juche 61 (1972) and the Socialist Labour Law of the DPRK in April Juche 67 (1978).

The Korean working people with their own occupations take part in labour on a voluntary basis.

All citizens who have reached the working age choose occupations in accordance with their wishes and talents, regardless of sex, nationality and social affiliation, and the state provides them with stable jobs and working conditions.

Women, who give birth to over three children, receive the same treatment with other working people who work for eight hours a day. They also enjoy such social benefits as a regular paid leave, maternity leave, accommodation at health resorts and holiday homes at state expense, and the use of medical treatment card for a prolific mother and her family members.

As the DPRK fully ensures the right to work, labour is regarded as the most sacred and honourable, and its working people make devoted efforts for their country’s prosperity and their own wellbeing, giving full play to voluntary enthusiasm and creativity.