"Unfair Dismissal is Kia's Responsibility"... Cleaners Flock to Headquarters Ahead of Yellow Envelope Law Implementation

[Financial News] Cleaning workers who were dismissed or suspended at the Kia Hwaseong plant took collective action on the 15th in front of the Hyundai and Kia headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Subcontracted workers increased the intensity of their struggle, directly targeting the parent company's responsibility as an employer, about six months ahead of the implementation of the amendment to the Labor Union Act Article 2 and 3 (commonly known as the 'Yellow Envelope Law').
The solidarity meeting of cleaning workers from the Kia Hwaseong plant and dismissed and suspended workers held a press conference on this day, claiming, "We received notice of dismissal and suspension on the 5th for raising issues of oppression against non-regular workers and sexual harassment and assault against female workers."
The workers gathered on site chanted slogans such as 'Kia, Take Responsibility for Labor Oppression and Unfair Dismissal' and 'Kia, Stop Covering Up and Minimizing the Sexual Violence Incident'.
They claimed that the company engaged in unfair labor practices by taking unjust personnel actions using union activities as an excuse.
They criticized, "The company endangered safety by instructing high-risk, high-intensity industrial waste disposal tasks without consulting members," and "continued habitual sexual harassment by forcing female members to attend drinking parties." They emphasized, "They turned legitimate union activities like propaganda warfare into reasons for disciplinary action by labeling them as non-compliance with instructions, unauthorized departure, and spreading false information." Lee Hwan-chun, a lawyer from the Minbyun Labor Committee, pointed out, "(Kia's) refusal to approve early leave and outings for metal union members participating in rallies is a typical unfair labor practice."
They also claimed that Hyundai and Kia continued illegal dispatches. In-house subcontracted workers have been fighting since the early 2000s, claiming that they performed the same tasks as regular workers under the orders of the parent company, yet their wages and treatment lagged behind. However, restaurant, security, and cleaning workers were excluded from regularization during the process of confirming worker status against the parent company, leaving them exposed to manpower shortages and everyday sexual harassment and assault, as well as harassment from parent and subcontract managers.
Kim Kyung-sook, a cleaning worker who was dismissed, criticized, "Kia disguises itself as a client by paying subcontract fees to subcontracting partners, but in reality, it controls subcontractors through the support team," and "The parent support team also handled the sexual harassment case involving non-regular female cleaning workers involving a parent company worker as 'no evidence'."
Yong-deok Lee, a permanent activist at the Migrant Workers Legal Support Center Salt Flower Tree, argued, "Without instructions from the parent company Kia, it is impossible to severely discipline two of the five workers who refused discrimination and unfair work orders by dismissing them and suspending the remaining three from work," and "Even though on site, not even a single glove or cleaning tool can be used without the parent company's permission, Kia is making a fuss that the company will go bankrupt because of the Yellow Envelope Law, which holds the parent company accountable for subcontracted workers."
On the other hand, concerns continue to be raised that the Yellow Envelope Law could cause confusion in industrial sites and burden the economy. In the National Assembly, a supplementary bill has been proposed to prohibit illegal occupation of workplaces by unions and allow substitute labor during strikes. The current law requires the unification of negotiation channels for multiple bargaining subjects within the workplace, but in the future, a single negotiation channel including subcontracted unions must be established.
Professor Choi Jun-seon of Sungkyunkwan University Law School pointed out, "It will take another 20 years for precedents to accumulate to judge the substantial control of the parent company, and confusion is inevitable in the meantime."
yesji@fnnews.com Kim Yeji Reporter