The bargaining conflict between the government and care worker labor unions — which had raised concerns since the enforcement of the revised Trade Union Act, also known as the "Yellow Envelope Act," on the 10th — has been settled. The government and care worker unions agreed to form a labor-government consultative body to discuss whether collective bargaining is possible and support measures for care workers.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday that it would hold the first meeting of a labor-government consultative body composed of three ministries — the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the Ministry of Education — along with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) care joint bargaining group. Ministry division directors and working-level officials from the bargaining group will attend the meeting.
The labor-government consultative body is seen as a solution to prevent bargaining conflicts between the government and care worker unions that could have arisen from the enforcement of the revised Trade Union Act. After the law took effect, care worker unions demanded immediate bargaining, arguing the government was the employer subject to negotiation. However, the government rejected the demand, stating it could not be definitively classified as an employer given the nature of the ministries involved.
The consultative body plans to discuss not only the employer status issue but also support measures for care workers. Care worker unions also agreed to suspend procedures for determining the government's employer status until the consultative body concludes its work. Had a union filed a request with the Labor Relations Commission for a corrective order, claiming the government failed to publicly announce the bargaining request, the commission would have had to determine the government's employer status. There were significant concerns that disputes over bargaining could escalate depending on the outcome of the employer status determination.
The government expects this consultative body to serve as the first official consultative mechanism since the revised Trade Union Act took effect. Given that the Ministry of Employment and Labor formed separate labor-government consultative bodies with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the KCTU before the law's enforcement, the government projects that similar labor-government cooperation cases could emerge in other public sectors. The care worker consultative body is reportedly a result of active mediation by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
"The government plans to work closely with the labor sector through the care sector labor-government consultative body and continue discussions to improve working conditions for care workers," Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said. "We will make the care sector a leading model and expand the labor-government consultative framework to encompass local governments and industry associations in other public sector areas."
