South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel and unions representing workers at four of its subsidiaries have reached a labor deal, marking the first such agreement between a main parent company and subcontracted workers since South Korea’s revised labor union law took effect six months ago.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Thursday that Hyundai Steel and its four subsidiaries, Hyundai ITC, Hyundai IEC, Hyundai IMC and Hyundai ISC, signed a collective bargaining agreement at the steelmaker’s Dangjin plant in South Chungcheong Province.
This marks the first such agreement since the amendment to articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act — revisions commonly known as the “Yellow Envelope” law — took effect on March 10.
The bill has stretched the definition of “employer” to encompass anyone who “substantially and significantly controls” working conditions, which gave bargaining power to unions representing workers in indirect or outsourced jobs.
According to the ministry, the National Labor Relations Commission in April decided to establish separate bargaining units for unions representing workers at Hyundai Steel’s four subsidiaries and those employed by other in-house subcontractors.
Hyundai Steel held a total of four rounds of talks with the unions at the four subsidiaries, beginning with an initial meeting on Aug. 20.
As a result, Hyundai Steel and the unions of the subsidiaries agreed to continuously improve occupational safety and health management system at the subsidiaries and establish a mid- to long-term road map to raise workplace safety and health standards.
“The collective bargaining agreement is the first case in which the purpose of the revised Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, promoting dialogue and mutually beneficial relations between principal contractors and subcontractors, has been achieved,” Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said. “The agreement could serve as a meaningful opportunity toward making Hyundai Steel’s workplace safer.”
sahn@heraldcorp.com
