(2nd LD) 33,000 workers rally against proposed revision of labor law

(ATTN: AMENDS headline, lead, paras 2-4, 7; REVISES number of protesters in lead para, details in paras 5-6)
SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Yonhap) -- About 33,000 workers rallied on Saturday against a government move to revise a law aimed at protecting the rights of part-time and temporary workers, according to police and organizers.
Under the law, which came into effect last year, employers are required to hire
irregular workers as regular employees after two years of employment.
But the ruling Grand National Party and the Ministry of Labor plan to extend that
period to four years, leading opposition parties and labor unions to protest.
At the demonstration, held at a park in Seoul's Yeouido district, the Korean
Confederation of Trade Unions, which organized the demonstration, said it will
make major efforts to prevent the government from revising the law.
"The government and employers are forcing laborers to stand on the edge of a
cliff," the KCTU said in a statement.
Some 2,500 riot police were deployed to keep order. There were no immediate
reports of any violence or arrests at Saturday's protest.
South Korea has some 5.5 million irregular workers, about three times higher than
the average of member nations to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, according to government data.
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