Government guidelines said it is appropriate for subcontract workers, when bargaining with the prime contractor, to form a single bargaining unit among subcontract workers only without mixing with workers belonging to the prime contractor. The prime-contractor union and the subcontractor union do not need to apply for separation of bargaining units.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on the 27th released a manual on win-win bargaining procedures between prime contractors and subcontractors that includes these details, ahead of the enforcement of Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (the yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers). The ministry had already finalized the revised enforcement decree and interpretation guidelines, and it announced a manual that specifies procedures in more detail than that. Because subcontract workers will be able to bargain directly with prime contractors starting on the 10th of next month, confusion has persisted over how subcontract workers should conduct bargaining.
Minister Kim Young-hoon said at a "joint briefing for on-site stabilization of Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act" that "when a subcontractor union bargains with a prime contractor, the Central Labor Relations Commission and the ministry agreed that the best approach is to go through the procedure of unifying the bargaining channel with the prime contractor at the level of the subcontract workers."
She added, "From the subcontractor union's perspective, bargaining rights are effectively guaranteed, and the prime contractor is less burdened because bargaining with the existing prime-contractor union is not affected," noting, "It will be of practical help to both labor and management."
According to the manual, the prime-contractor union and the subcontractor union do not need to apply for separation of bargaining units. A subcontractor union does not need to file a separate separation application to split its bargaining unit from the prime-contractor union, slightly reducing the steps required to reach final bargaining. However, when separating bargaining units among multiple subcontractor unions, a separate separation application is required.
When a subcontractor union that has completed separation of the bargaining unit demands bargaining, the prime contractor must announce the fact of the bargaining request. If the prime contractor excludes some subcontractor unions when making this announcement, subcontract workers may file for correction with the Labor Relations Commission. In that case, the commission must decide on employer status within 20 days.
If several subcontractor unions seek to bargain together, all unions must apply to participate. They must also choose a bargaining representative. If only one subcontractor union applies and others do not, it becomes the sole union subject for bargaining. ▲ Demand for bargaining by a subcontractor union ▲ Announcement by the prime contractor ▲ Applications by other subcontractor unions ▲ Announcement confirming the union(s) requesting bargaining ▲ Decision on the representative bargaining union — after these steps, bargaining takes place.
The Minister said, "This manual will remove uncertainty on the ground and help ensure the effective bargaining rights of subcontract workers," adding, "We will continue to make sure real growth can be achieved through labor-management co-prosperity and narrowing gaps."