The final adjudicating body for government labor administration once again officially recognized the Cargo Solidarity Headquarters, composed of truck drivers, as a labor union.
The Central Labor Relations Commission (CLRC) on the 24th upheld the initial ruling and granted a retrial petition in the case concerning CJ Logistics' request for "correction of the public notice of the fact of objection to the finalized announcement of unions requesting bargaining."
Earlier in March, the company omitted Cargo Solidarity when it disclosed the list of unions that requested collective bargaining. Because truck owners sign logistics transport contracts as self-employed workers in a special employment status rather than under a standard labor contract, the company said they cannot be considered legal employees and therefore are not bargaining counterparts.
In response, Cargo Solidarity, by delegation of authority from the higher-level labor organization, the Public Transport Workers' Union, raised the issue with the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission (RLRB), and the RLRB on Apr. 27 ruled in favor of Cargo Solidarity. Cargo Solidarity sees the CLRC's decision as again clarifying both major logistics firms' employer responsibility and special employment workers' legitimate right to union activity.
Meanwhile, the CLRC on the same day also maintained the initial ruling in a retrial case filed by Hyundai Steel over a "decision to separate bargaining units." Separating bargaining units is a system that, when negotiations are conducted through a single channel in one workplace, separates a specific group of workers into a distinct bargaining group in light of clear differences in occupation, employment type, or working conditions. With this decision, the previous policy requiring the separation and operation of bargaining units among subcontractor labor unions at Hyundai Steel has been finalized.