Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said on the 23rd that, regarding the death of a Cargo Truckers Solidarity member who had been demanding negotiations at CU's logistics center in Jinju, South Gyeongsang, "the essence of the incident is the multilevel structure that had been a problem even before the yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers."
The Minister appeared on SBS Radio's "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show" that day and said, "Some media outlets criticize that the yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers, even took a person's life, but it was actually a disaster caused because the intent of the yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers, was not well realized on the ground," and stated accordingly.
The Minister said, "The yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers, institutionalizes dialogue," adding, "This time, regrettably, dialogue was refused, and management filed for damages, worsening the situation." He continued, "The union had no choice but to move toward extreme struggle, and in that process this kind of disaster occurred."
The structure for supplying logistics to CU is said to have five stages: CU-BGF Logistics (CU's logistics subsidiary)-regional logistics centers-subcontracted carriers-cargo workers. Cargo workers have demanded negotiations, saying CU, which effectively determines not only freight rates but also volumes and working conditions, is the principal contractor. However, CU refused to negotiate seven times, saying it was not a party to the contract. To again demand negotiations, on the 20th the Cargo Truckers Solidarity held a rally in front of CU's logistics center in Jinju, South Gyeongsang, when one union member was struck and killed by a replacement vehicle brought in by CU.
The Minister said, "The conflict was conceived within the multilevel structure in which the carrier and the cargo worker at the very end contract with each other." He added, "Within the multilevel subcontracting structure, workers at the very bottom had no choice but to demand negotiations with the principal contractor to improve their treatment."
Asked whether the principal contractor in this case is BGF Retail (CU operator), the Minister answered, "Yes." The Minister said, "There are precedents that say truck drivers should be regarded as a union if, even though they appear as self-employed in the form of specially employed workers, they are in a state of economic dependency in substance," adding, "Even if the form is self-employed, if in substance they are dependent, can't they be seen as workers?"