The Korea GM (GM) labor union issued a directive to all members to report to their worksites as normal in protest of management's closure of company-run service centers and an order to work from home. Management says it plans to reassign personnel to boost efficiency, but the union calls it a de facto layoff and argues that the system of company-run regional centers must be maintained. As the union hardens its resolve, attention is on whether a recent court decision to dismiss the union's injunction request to block the closure of company-run centers will become a variable in upcoming labor-management talks.
According to the auto industry on the 19th, the Emergency Response Committee of the Korea GM Branch to Block the Closure of Company-run Maintenance issued a directive for members of the maintenance parts chapter and members of the office chapter working in maintenance shops to report to their existing company-run centers starting on the 23rd. Union delegates working at each company-run center will check whether members report to work and report to the committee. The move is aimed at preventing members from breaking ranks.
Citing the recent labor dispute sparked by the dismissal of subcontracted workers at GM Korea's Sejong logistics center, which was resolved through job succession, the committee said, "We will take this hard-won victory as a lesson and, after the Lunar New Year, build a vigorous struggle together with the members. With that strength, let's block the plan for a full closure (of the company-run centers)." The union plans to continue labor-management talks while maintaining its struggle.
GM Korea's nine company-run centers nationwide officially ended operations on the 15th. GM Korea decided last year to close them, saying chronic deficits at the company-run centers have not improved and the repair volume handled by the nine centers accounts for less than 10% of the total. Management says about 380 partner centers alone can adequately handle after-sales service.
In response, the union swiftly formed an emergency committee and is waging an all-out campaign to block the closure of the company-run centers. The plan by management to reassign about 450 company-run center employees to plants in Bupyeong and Changwon, among others, amounts to a de facto layoff, it says. The union also argues that recalls due to manufacturing or design defects and precision, high-risk work can only be handled by company-run centers, raising concerns about consumer harm.
In turn, GM Korea shared with the union a plan to set up a dedicated organization called the High-Tech Center to manage about 380 partner centers by dividing them into three regions — ▲Seoul/Gyeonggi/Gangwon ▲Chungcheong/Jeolla ▲Gyeongsang — and to keep about 30 employees from the existing company-run centers there. However, the union is pushing back, insisting on maintaining the company-run center system. That does not mean keeping all nine nationwide as is. It is proposing a slightly reduced number, retained by region.
Both sides plan to narrow their differences through talks after the Lunar New Year holiday. For now, management has ordered company-run center employees to work from home until the talks conclude. Wages will be paid at 100% during this period.
The union, however, told management it cannot agree to a work-from-home policy without a deal. The directive ordering all members to report to work stems from this stance.
As the labor dispute over the company-run centers is expected to drag on, attention is on whether the court's decision in favor of GM Korea will become a factor. On the 15th, the 21st Civil Division of the Incheon District Court dismissed the union's request for an injunction to block the closure of the company-run centers and the reassignment of personnel.
After the court decision, some employees were said to be concerned that the struggle might not be legally protected. A union official said, "Even with the dismissal of the injunction request, there will be no disadvantages for members," adding, "We will continue to report to work as before."