South Gyeongnam Labor Relations Commission fails to mediate; recommends voluntary bargaining

Metal workers' union demands 11th round of talks, threatens joint strike if refused

A view of Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard [Yonhap]
A view of Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard [Yonhap]

For the first time since a revised labor union law took effect, a labor dispute mediation case has been filed against a prime contractor — and with mediation failing, subcontractor unions at Hanwha Ocean have secured the legal right to strike.

The South Gyeongnam Regional Labor Relations Commission said Wednesday it convened a mediation session for labor disputes filed by the Korean Metal Workers' Union's Geoje-Tongyeong-Goseong Shipbuilding Subcontractors Branch and Wellive Branch against Hanwha Ocean, but mediation was not reached. The case marks the first labor dispute mediation filed against a prime contractor since the revised Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act — which expanded the definition of "employer" — took effect on March 10.

The Metal Workers' Union had demanded collective bargaining with Hanwha Ocean 10 times, but after the company refused to engage, the union filed for mediation with the South Gyeongnam commission on June 22.

The commission said it held discussions during the mediation session aimed at opening collective bargaining between labor and management, but concluded that the gap between the two sides was too wide to propose a settlement. The sticking point was a disagreement over which bargaining items had already been recognized as falling under the prime contractor's employer obligations through labor commission rulings, and which had not yet been determined.

The commission recommended that "the parties negotiate autonomously on the basis of mutual trust and cooperation, and that bargaining items for which the prime contractor's employer status has not been confirmed be resolved through adjudication procedures at the labor commission."

With mediation having failed, both the Wellive Branch and the Geoje-Tongyeong-Goseong Shipbuilding Subcontractors Branch are now legally entitled to take strike action. The Wellive Branch held a strike authorization vote June 18 and 19, with 406 of 437 union members participating; 342, or 84.2 percent, voted in favor. The Geoje-Tongyeong-Goseong branch is currently conducting its own strike authorization vote, running from June 29 through July 3.

The Metal Workers' Union called the outcome "the first case in which a subcontractor union has secured the right to strike against a prime contractor since the revised union law took effect." The union said Hanwha Ocean had excluded the Wellive Branch from its official notice of unions eligible for bargaining, a move that drew a corrective order from the South Gyeongnam commission and a review by the National Labor Relations Commission. Even after the national commission recognized Hanwha Ocean's employer status last month, the company still refused to enter collective bargaining, the union said.

"It has been revealed that even after the revised union law took effect, an employer can hide behind legal disputes to drag out time and refuse collective bargaining," the union said, adding that it would demand an 11th round of talks and that the Shipbuilding Subcontractors Branch and the Wellive Branch would launch a joint strike if the company continued to refuse.


fact0514@heraldcorp.com