Hyundai Steel Company Signs Parent-Subcontractor Collective Agreement with Unions at Four Subsidiaries—the First Since the Yellow Envelope Act Took Effect

[Financial News] Hyundai Steel Company has signed a collective agreement covering the parent company and subcontractors with the labor unions of four subsidiaries, including Hyundai ITC. It is the first case in which a parent company and subcontractor unions reached a collective agreement through negotiations since the revised Trade Union Act, known as the “Yellow Envelope Act,” took effect in March. The parties agreed to improve their safety and health management systems, focusing on industrial safety issues for which Hyundai Steel’s status as an employer was recognized by the Labor Relations Commission.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on the 10th, Hyundai Steel Company and the labor and management representatives of four subsidiaries—Hyundai ITC, Hyundai IEC, Hyundai IMC and Hyundai ISC—signed the “2026 Parent-Subcontractor Negotiation Agreement” at Hyundai Steel’s Dangjin plant that day, concluding a collective agreement covering the parent company and subcontractors.
Negotiations between Hyundai Steel Company and the subsidiary unions gained momentum after the Labor Relations Commission decided to separate the bargaining units. The commission decided on April 16 in its initial ruling, and again on June 24 in its review ruling, to separate the bargaining units of the four subsidiary unions from those of unions representing workers at in-house partner companies.
Accordingly, Hyundai Steel Company has conducted negotiations by bargaining unit. The agreement reached this time covers the four subsidiary unions. Negotiations with unions representing workers at in-house partner companies will proceed separately from this agreement.
Negotiations with the subsidiary unions took place four times in total, beginning with an initial meeting on the 20th of last month. Hyundai Steel Company, the subsidiary unions and subsidiary management jointly discussed industrial safety issues for which Hyundai Steel’s status as an employer had been recognized through the Labor Relations Commission.
As a result of the negotiations, Hyundai Steel Company and the subsidiary labor and management representatives agreed to continuously improve the subsidiaries’ industrial safety and health management systems and establish a roadmap for medium- and long-term improvements to raise safety and health standards.
However, the agreement should not be broadly interpreted as Hyundai Steel Company recognizing its status as an employer with respect to all working conditions of subsidiary employees. According to MOEL, the scope discussed in the negotiations, based on Hyundai Steel’s recognized employer status, was limited to industrial safety issues.
The Cheonan Branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor also participated in the negotiations. The branch supported working-level consultations between labor and management, chaired labor-management-government meetings, and coordinated differences between the parent company and subsidiary labor and management representatives.
Attention now turns to negotiations with unions representing workers at Hyundai Steel’s in-house partner companies and whether parent-subcontractor negotiations will spread to other manufacturing workplaces. However, because subcontracting structures and the working conditions over which parent companies actually exercise influence differ by workplace, the scope of recognized employer status and the bargaining agenda are likely to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
A Hyundai Steel Company official said, "With support from MOEL, we reached a dispute-free agreement with the four subsidiary unions through a labor-management-government consultative body. Through the parent-subcontractor negotiation agreement, we laid the foundation for sustainable mutual growth and the creation of a safe working environment."
Kim Young-hoon, minister of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, stated, "This is the first case in which the revised Trade Union Act’s spirit of dialogue and mutual growth between parent companies and subcontractors has been realized in the workplace. Dialogue between the parent company and subcontractors can serve as an opportunity to make Hyundai Steel’s workplaces safer." 

[email protected] Kim Mi-hee Kim Jun-hyeok Reporter