Samsung C&T Negotiated with a Company Union... Supreme Court: "Negotiate Again with the Metal Union"

[Financial News] Samsung C&T signed a collective agreement with a company union and refused to negotiate with the National Metal Workers' Union (Metal Union), to which the Supreme Court ruled to "negotiate again with the Metal Union."
According to the legal community on the 4th, the Supreme Court's first division (Chief Justice Seo Kyung-hwan) confirmed the lower court's ruling in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the Metal Union against Samsung C&T for the implementation of collective bargaining.
Employees of Samsung C&T's resort division (Everland) established the Metal Union's Samsung branch in July 2011 and demanded annual collective bargaining from the management. However, Samsung C&T signed a collective agreement and wage agreement with the company union 'Everland Union', established in June of the same year, and did not respond to the Metal Union's demands.
Samsung C&T signed collective agreements with the Everland Union on a two-year basis and wage agreements on a one-year basis until 2020. Furthermore, the Everland Union became the bargaining representative union through the unified bargaining channel procedure with Samsung C&T from 2013 to 2020.
The conflict between Samsung C&T and the Metal Union entered a new phase as the prosecution indicted Samsung officials on charges of obstructing the establishment and operation of the Metal Union and establishing a company union. Former Samsung Electronics Vice President Kang Kyung-hoon and others, who were put on trial, were confirmed guilty by the Supreme Court in March 2022.
The Metal Union also filed a lawsuit against the Everland Union to confirm the invalidity of its establishment. The court recognized the invalidity, stating, "The Everland Union was established as a company union by the employer's unfair labor practices to obstruct and dominate the organization and operation of the Samsung branch, failing to meet the substantive requirements stipulated by the Constitution and the Labor Union Act," and the ruling was confirmed in June 2022.
The Metal Union filed a lawsuit against Samsung C&T to comply with collective bargaining from 2011 to 2020. In 2021, the Metal Union was recognized as the bargaining representative union and conducted collective bargaining, but the intention was to retroactively conduct collective bargaining with the Metal Union for the period when only the Everland Union was negotiated.
The lower courts' judgments were divided. The first trial sided with Samsung C&T, stating, "Even if a new collective agreement is concluded regarding wages, working hours, holidays, vacations, etc., it is impossible to retroactively comply."
In contrast, the second trial overturned the judgment in favor of the plaintiff. The second trial court judged, "The negotiation matters requested by the plaintiff are related to wages, working hours, and other working conditions, as well as collective bargaining and labor-management council matters, all of which are mandatory negotiation matters with the duty of good faith bargaining for the employer."
It further added, "In this case, where collective bargaining did not occur despite the plaintiff's continuous negotiation requests to the defendant, it is difficult to see that the negotiation matters requested by the plaintiff are excluded from mandatory negotiation matters or that there is no practical benefit in requesting negotiations solely because they relate to past labor relations."
The Supreme Court stated, "It is inappropriate for the lower court to have viewed that the plaintiff could negotiate regarding past working conditions regardless of the validity of the existing collective agreement," but deemed the conclusion of the lower court imposing the duty of collective bargaining on Samsung C&T as justified.
The Supreme Court ruled, "The Metal Union is the only union entitled to exercise the right to collective bargaining, having lawfully demanded collective bargaining," and "Nevertheless, the Everland Union first concluded a collective agreement in 2011 or became the bargaining representative union from 2013, failing to guarantee the Metal Union's right to collective bargaining."

jisseo@fnnews.com Seo Min-ji Reporter