Ready-mix concrete manufacturers in the Seoul metropolitan area said they will hold freight rate talks with the National Ready-mix Concrete Transport Union Federation (Jeonunryeon) by region rather than through unified negotiations. After the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport brokered a deal to raise freight rates, the agreement was voted down inside Jeonunryeon, effectively scuttling unified bargaining.
According to the ready-mix industry on the 11th, metropolitan-area ready-mix manufacturers sent an official letter to Jeonunryeon that afternoon, notifying, "We will shift freight rate talks to regional negotiations." In the letter, the manufacturers said, "As the problems caused by unified bargaining have become evident, we are informing you that future freight rate talks will be shifted to regional negotiations."
Earlier, on the 9th, metropolitan-area ready-mix manufacturers and Jeonunryeon, under the mediation of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, drew up a final agreement to raise this year's freight rate by 4,200 won per trip. But the situation changed rapidly after Jeonunryeon put the agreement to a vote of its members and it was voted down. Jeonunryeon has since reportedly demanded renegotiations without withdrawing its transport refusal.
Manufacturers pushed back strongly. The manufacturers said, "We express deep regret over the demand for renegotiations without withdrawing the transport refusal on the grounds that the vote failed," adding, "Overturning an agreement officially reached by the negotiating teams of both sides seriously undermines mutual trust."
With the dispatch of this letter, the tentative agreement the two sides had painstakingly reached has effectively returned to square one. That is because the manufacturers made clear they will no longer accede to the unified bargaining that Jeonunryeon has demanded.
Jeonunryeon has demanded unified bargaining that would group together 14 ready-mix transport union chapters across the metropolitan area. The reason is that if talks proceed by region, areas with relatively weaker bargaining power could be disadvantaged in the size of freight rate increases.
Manufacturers, on the other hand, have maintained a negative stance on unified bargaining. They are concerned that accepting unified bargaining could be interpreted as recognizing individual transport operators as workers under the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act. They also see the potential for a significant weakening of the manufacturers' bargaining power in future freight rate talks as a burden.
However, during the process of drawing up this tentative agreement, manufacturers appeared to partially accept the demand for unified bargaining to prevent disruptions in ready-mix supply caused by a prolonged transport refusal. But after the agreement was voted down inside Jeonunryeon, the manufacturers returned to the principle of regional negotiations.
In the letter, the manufacturers "urge the immediate withdrawal of the transport refusal" and said, "We state firmly that we cannot continue negotiations without the withdrawal of the transport refusal."
Following the letter, Jeonunryeon has yet to send an official response to the manufacturers, according to reports. A ready-mix industry official said, "Given that the gap between the positions of the manufacturers and the union has widened again, it appears unlikely that a negotiating table will be set up today."