Hanwha Ocean Begins Talks with Subcontracted Workers; Court Rejects Bid to Suspend Ruling Including Welliv Branch

[Financial News] A court has rejected Hanwha Ocean’s application to suspend enforcement after the company challenged the National Labor Relations Commission’s ruling that subcontracted workers must be allowed at the bargaining table. The decision effectively upheld the commission’s determination that Hanwha Ocean is the employer of workers employed by Welliv, a contractor responsible for in-house catering, commuter bus operations and facility management. KMWU called for talks, saying, "Hanwha Ocean must immediately begin collective bargaining with KMWU as the principal contractor."
According to legal circles and KMWU on the 2nd, Administrative Division 13 of the Seoul Administrative Court, presided over by Judge Jin Hyun-seop, rejected the application for suspension of enforcement that Hanwha Ocean had filed against the National Labor Relations Commission the previous day.
In March, when the amended Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, known as the Yellow Envelope Act, took effect, a union representing Hanwha Ocean’s subcontracted workers demanded collective bargaining from the principal contractor. The KMWU Geoje-Tongyeong-Goseong Shipbuilding Subcontractors Branch was listed in Hanwha Ocean’s notice of unions requesting bargaining, but the Welliv Branch, which had also requested bargaining, was excluded.
On April 16, the Gyeongnam Regional Labor Relations Commission ordered Hanwha Ocean to issue a notice confirming the unions requesting bargaining, including both the KMWU Geoje-Tongyeong-Goseong Shipbuilding Subcontractors Branch and the Welliv Branch. On June 15, the National Labor Relations Commission upheld the decision and determined that Hanwha Ocean is the employer of Welliv workers under the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act.
Hanwha Ocean applied to suspend enforcement, citing the harm that would result from the Welliv Branch’s request for bargaining. The company argued that refusing to bargain could lead to criminal punishment and that, if a collective agreement were concluded, there would be no way to reverse it.
The court said, "There has been no showing that the negotiations are likely to cause harm that would be difficult to repair or that there is an urgent need to suspend the decision’s effect to prevent such harm," adding, "Based solely on Hanwha Ocean’s evidence and arguments, it is difficult to conclude that the labor commission’s corrective decision is manifestly unlawful."
KMWU issued a press release that day, stating, "Hanwha Ocean must immediately begin collective bargaining with KMWU as the principal contractor," and emphasizing, "The government must fulfill its responsibilities and role to ensure that principal contractors engage in collective bargaining with unions representing nonregular subcontracted workers."
[email protected] Lee Chang-hoon Reporter