When the yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers (Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act Articles 2 and 3 amendment), takes effect in Mar., labor unions of in-house and outside partner companies at large corporations will be able to bargain directly with the parent company. Unions at subcontractors are expected to increasingly skip their own subcontracting firms and demand direct talks with the parent company. There are also concerns that corporations may find normal management difficult because the yellow envelope law has included management decisions within the scope of industrial action.
Amid this, the specific scale of subcontractors for Hyundai Motor, Korea's largest automaker, was made public for the first time. According to the data titled "Status of Hyundai Motor's union and partner companies" that Hyundai Motor submitted to Rep. Chun Haram of the Reform Party on the 3rd, the total number of Hyundai Motor's in-house and outside partner companies came to 8,500. This is the first time Hyundai Motor has directly disclosed the size of its subcontractors.
According to the data, Hyundai Motor has 124 in-house partner companies. In-house partner companies refer to subcontractors that work inside the parent company's business sites. There are two core-task partners, 67 non-core-task partners, and 55 office support partners such as security and cleaning. The number of employees working at in-house partner companies reaches about 12,000. These can be seen as entities over which Hyundai Motor effectively holds control.
Hyundai Motor's outside partner companies include first-, second-, and third-tier partners as well as general purchasing partners. Hyundai Motor said it has 386 first-tier partners. While there have been estimates indirectly gauging Hyundai Motor's first-tier partners, this is the first time Hyundai Motor has directly disclosed the size of its first-tier partners. As first-tier partners deal directly with Hyundai Motor, its effective control is likewise expected to be recognized.
Second- and third-tier partners were estimated at a little over 5,000. Hyundai Motor said, "Because second- and third-tier partners do not have a direct transaction relationship, an accurate estimate is impossible." General purchasing partners are estimated at a little over 3,000. Although second- and third-tier partners or general purchasing partners do not supply parts or materials directly to Hyundai Motor, there is a fair chance that Hyundai Motor's effective control could be recognized. If the yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers, takes effect, unions at these corporations will be able to demand direct bargaining with Hyundai Motor.
Hyundai Motor's in-house and outside partner companies total 8,500. Multiple unions are excluded, and if entities with multiple unions are added, the number could rise further. This is why the business community is concerned that if the yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers, is implemented as is, corporate management itself could become difficult. Although the effective date of the yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers, is four months away, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) has yet to present specific guidelines.
Rep. Chun Haram said, "The yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers, imposes unreasonable bargaining obligations on both parent companies and subcontractors and puts shackles on corporations," stressing that supplementary legislation is needed before it takes effect.