The government concluded that it is not an obligatory bargaining matter that the government must protect when workers demand excessive management performance bonuses based on a company's operating profit. It also saw that managerial decisions such as building new plants or transfer are likewise not obligatory bargaining matters.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on the 3rd announced the "implementation guidelines on labor disputes over management performance bonuses, etc." It specifies the scope of "labor disputes" as defined in the yellow envelop bill (Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act), and will serve as the standard for future government interpretations and case handling related to collective bargaining, industrial action, and unfair labor practices.
According to the guidelines, matters related to working conditions such as wages and welfare are, in principle, obligatory bargaining matters. Management performance bonuses are also included in bargaining matters when they can be regarded as part of working conditions.
However, the government drew a line, saying that demands to pre-allocate a certain percentage as bonuses in linkage with operating profit are not bargaining matters. Corporate profits are resources used for various purposes such as research and development, capital investment, and dividends, and the government explained that demands to distribute them first as bonuses would excessively restrict the freedom of business and could infringe on the rights and interests of third parties, including shareholders.
Decisions to change corporate structures such as mergers, partitioning, or sales were also excluded from bargaining matters. The government said these managerial decisions must be individually examined to determine how they actually affect working conditions amid the balance between the three labor rights and freedom of business. In particular, it made clear that decisions themselves to build new plants or transfer, or to sell a business, are not bargaining matters at the initial announcement stage because their impact on working conditions is uncertain.
The government also said that, in principle, the introduction of new technologies such as AI and automation equipment is not a bargaining matter. However, if the introduction of new technologies is accompanied by an announced restructuring plan that concretizes workforce reductions or changes in work arrangements, it can become a bargaining matter.