First joint employer-contractor bargaining dispute since revised labor law took effect

Union demands substantive talks on wages and working conditions, not procedural delays

Busan city government urged to oversee and mediate

Busan Urban Railway Line 1 [Provided by Busan Transportation Corporation]
Busan Urban Railway Line 1 [Provided by Busan Transportation Corporation]

The Busan Subway Labor Union is pressing Busan Transportation Corporation to stop stalling on joint employer-contractor collective bargaining and engage as a responsible primary employer. The union said the corporation has taken a passive stance from the very start of the procedural process, effectively gutting the intent of the joint bargaining framework.

The union said Tuesday that while an amendment to Article 2 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act had made collective bargaining possible between primary and subcontracted workers, Busan Transportation Corporation had yet to agree even on basic procedural terms. The Busan Subway Labor Union is a joint organization comprising a branch affiliated with Busan Transportation Corporation and a service branch affiliated with Busan Urban Railway Service, a subsidiary of the corporation.

Busan Urban Railway Service is a wholly owned subsidiary of Busan Transportation Corporation, handling station cleaning, call center operations and facility maintenance. After the amended labor law took effect in March, the union demanded collective bargaining on behalf of the service branch and was subsequently confirmed as the sole bargaining representative following a consolidation process.

The union criticized the corporation for insisting, during negotiations over a procedural agreement ahead of the first full bargaining session, that talks be held only every other week and that only agenda items agreed upon in advance be discussed.

"With biweekly sessions, we would have only five or six rounds of talks for the entire year, making substantive discussion nearly impossible," the union said. "Limiting the agenda to pre-approved items would strip the joint bargaining process of its purpose."

The union's key demands include improvements to the calculation of overtime and annual leave allowances, a wage structure overhaul aligned with living wage standards, and additional staffing for station and facility management. The union said the existing living wage benchmark no longer reflects reality following recent court rulings on ordinary wages and called for a comprehensive revision of the wage system.

The union also called on the Busan city government to step in and ensure that Busan Transportation Corporation does not evade its joint bargaining obligations. "Busan Transportation Corporation must fulfill its responsibilities as a genuine employer in line with the spirit of the amended labor law and engage actively in substantive — not merely formal — collective bargaining," the union said.


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