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As the amendment to the Trade Union Law, which allows laid off people to join the union, was approved by the National Assembly on the 9th, concerns are growing among companies. Striking workers are moving to protest at a manufacturing plant. Reporter Shin Kyung-hoon [email protected]
Mr. A and Mr. B, former members of the Hyundai Heavy Industries union, met with a colleague C at the Ulsan plant in June last year and demanded that they join the strike. When Mr. C refused to do this, Mr. A and Mr. B, enraged, went down his legs and hit his face several times. Mr. C suffered a concussion and abrasion. Mr. A and Mr. B were fired for this case. The Hyundai Heavy Industries union held 17 strikes this year calling for the reinstatement of four fired workers, including Mr. A. It is a policy that the company cannot accept. Because of this, workers and management have yet to complete wage and collective bargaining for 2019, not just this year.
Mr. A will be able to return to work as a member of the Hyundai Heavy Industries union starting next year. Not because the company accepted the union’s demand and decided to reinstate it. This is due to the fact that the reform to the union law that allows dismissed workers to join the union and their union activities was processed in the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 9th. This law enters into force six months after its promulgation.
When the amendment to the trade union law was approved by the National Assembly, the companies panicked. This is because layoffs like Mr. A’s have been able to rejoin the union. An executive in charge of the work and management of a large company said: “Starting in the second half of next year, the union struggle is expected to become more intense.”
According to the Central Labor Commission, 2,142 people were fired after seeking redress for “unfair dismissal” last year. This includes layoffs like that of Mr. A. The number of layoffs of this type continued to rise from 1,464 in 2015, surpassing 2,000 for the first time last year. The cumulative number of employees over five years reached 8138. The companies see that many of them will rejoin the union.
The business community is demanding that the union, including strong members, have even the slightest right to respond, as it is more likely to make a greater demand for strikes as a weapon. An official from the Federation of Korean Employers said: “In case of strikes excluded from this revision of the union law, there is a desperate need for additional supplementary legislation so that the provisions for the prohibition of the occupation of production facilities at the site of work can be reflected in the concession of alternative work and industrial actions “.
Some 2,100 people denounce an ‘unfair dismissal’ … Will the union return to the ‘fight for reprisals’?
Companies in an emergency to allow dismissal to join the union
Mr. A, who stopped the Hyundai Motor Company production line in 2013 without permission, broke into the GM Korea president’s office in 2018 and broke something, Mr. B, who broke an object, and Mr. C , who struck a colleague who did not participate in the strike last year. All of them were fired from the company. The Central Labor Commission and the court decided that his dismissal was legitimate. Some dismissals have been sentenced to prison. However, the unions of these companies demand their reimbursement in the annual salary and in collective bargaining. The position of the company is that it cannot be accepted.
Political circles have paved the way for these layoffs to resume union activities starting next year. On the 9th, he approved an amendment to the trade union law that allows layoffs to join the union. They could not be reinstated, but could carry out union activities. According to the Central Labor Commission, 2,142 people were fired after seeking redress for “unfair dismissal” last year. The cumulative number of employees over five years reached 8138. Many of them are expected to rejoin the union. The union welcomes you and says, “I get a hundred a day.” Companies are concerned and say, “We have even dealt with layoffs.”
“If you can’t go back to work, meet with the union and work there.”
The revision of the union law led by the government and the ruling party was to ratify the central convention of the International Labor Organization (ILO), a promise of President Moon Jae-in. If the basic agreement, including the “guarantee of freedom of association”, was ratified, the law was revised because it conflicts with the existing union law that prohibits dismissal to join the union.
Experts, however, fear that the situation is completely different between the European countries that have previously ratified the Convention and Korea. Since European countries are “industrial union systems”, it is natural to join a union even if a fired person is laid off, and this does not have a significant impact on individual companies. On the other hand, the situation is different in Korea. It is pointed out that the “union system for each company” is focused, so if a dismissal rejoins a union union, it will have a great impact on the company’s labor-employer relations.
Worries are signs that will come true. As soon as the legislation was passed, each business union began preparing for dismissal to rejoin the union. An official from the auto manufacturers union said: “If the request for reinstatement of the layoff is not accepted, the layoff will rejoin the union so they can officially work.”
Stop the line, until dismissal who broke the house
The company has an emergency. It’s because of the power of dismissal. Mr. A, a member of the Hyundai Motors union, took over the production line in 2010 and stopped the line in 2012. He was fired after inflicting significant damage on the company by shutting down the production line in 2013. It is anticipated that if the Mr. A rejoins the union next year, Hyundai Motor’s pay and collective bargaining will get tough. Hyundai Motor’s workforce and management led the conclusion of negotiations without disputes for the second year in a row until this year.
The same is true of Mr. B, who was a member of the GM Korea union. After breaking into the boss’s office in 2018, he smashed bookshelves and flower pots. Dissatisfied with the management’s proposal, he hit the wall of the conference room several times with a fire extinguisher. It is observed that if the union is rejoined, the level of struggle of the Korean GM would be higher. This year’s interim wage and collective bargaining agreement, which was prepared by GM Korea’s workers and post-job management, was rejected in a recent vote for and against the union.
209 days of job loss in Korea compared to Japan
The business community is concerned about the possibility of an increase in the number of days off work due to union membership dismissal. According to the Korea Institute of Economic Research, the average number of days lost from work per 1,000 salaried workers due to strikes in the last 10 years in Korea reached 41.8. It is 209.0 times that of Japan, 9.7 times that of Germany, 6.2 times that of the US, and 2.1 times that of the UK.
The companies ask for the right to respond so that the factory can function even if the union goes on strike. Every time the union goes on strike, there is a major interruption in production, so the company requested an alternative job so that the company could hire other workers to continue production. Major countries like the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France have introduced this system. An official from the Korean Employers’ Federation said: “This extraordinary assembly is our last chance” and “I will persuade the National Assembly to reflect the demands of the management at least a little.”
Reporter Kim Il-gyu / Do Byeong-wook [email protected]
