On First Day of Yellow Envelope Act, 407 Subcontractor Unions Demand Talks With 221 Parent Companies; Hanwha Ocean, POSCO and Coupang Announce Requests

On July 10, the first day the Yellow Envelope Act (amended Trade Union Act) took effect, 407 subcontractor unions, including branches and local chapters, demanded collective bargaining with 221 parent companies. Hanwha Ocean, POSCO, Coupang Logistics Services (CLS), Busan Transportation Corporation and Hwaseong City publicly announced that they had received bargaining requests, in line with legal procedures.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) released on the 11th the status of bargaining demands submitted by subcontractor unions to parent workplaces, based on data compiled as of 8 p.m. on the 10th.
According to the government tally, a total of 407 subcontractor unions filed bargaining requests targeting 221 parent companies. These unions together represent about 81,600 members. Of them, 357 subcontractor unions, with 67,200 members, are affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), while 42 unions, with 9,200 members, belong to the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU). Authorities expect the number of bargaining demands from subcontractor unions to increase further.
Companies that received bargaining demands include Hyundai Motor Company, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, CJ Logistics, POSCO, Coupang Logistics Services (CLS), Seoul Metro, Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) and Incheon International Airport Corporation.
Among the 221 parent companies that received bargaining demands from subcontractor unions, Hanwha Ocean, POSCO, CLS, Busan Transportation Corporation and Hwaseong City immediately posted public notices on July 10 acknowledging the requests. Under the current Trade Union Act, once an employer receives a bargaining request from a union, it must publicly announce that fact. Other parent companies appear to be reviewing whether they qualify as employers under the law and related issues.
So far, subcontractor unions and others have filed a total of 31 applications to separate bargaining units. Whether to separate bargaining units and whether a company qualifies as an employer are matters decided by the Labor Relations Commission. Under the amended Trade Union Act, unifying the bargaining channel is the basic rule, but subcontractor unions may apply to separate bargaining units before or after unification, depending on their circumstances and intentions.
Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said, "Now that dialogue has been institutionalized, I ask the labor movement to guide its affiliated organizations so that orderly bargaining can take place under the value of solidarity, and I also ask management to work together, recognizing that win-win relations between parent companies and subcontractors ultimately strengthen corporate competitiveness." He added, "As we take the first steps toward win-win bargaining in accordance with the law and due process, including public notices of bargaining demands and applications to separate bargaining units, the government will responsibly support the stable implementation of the Trade Union Act."

jhyuk@fnnews.com Kim Jun-hyuk Reporter