POSCO (005490.KS) will begin collective bargaining with three subcontractor labor unions as early as this year. The steelmaker has become the first major corporation to be granted original contractor employer status since the implementation of the revised Trade Union Act, commonly known as the Yellow Envelope Law, which enabled bargaining between original and subcontractors.
The Gyeongbuk Regional Labor Relations Commission on January 8 approved a bargaining unit separation request filed by members of the Korean Metalworkers' Union and the National Plant Construction Workers' Union, both affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.
As a result, POSCO, now recognized as having original contractor employer status, must negotiate with three subcontractor unions: the Federation of Korean Metal Workers' Trade Unions under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, and the Korean Metalworkers' Union and National Plant Construction Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. Including POSCO's own in-house union, the company will conduct annual collective bargaining with four unions.
This marks the first time a labor relations commission has ruled on a bargaining unit separation case since the revised Trade Union Act took effect. The Ministry of Employment and Labor designed a negotiation framework under the revised law that separates bargaining units between original and subcontractor unions, with subcontractor units also divided by individual union. When original and subcontractor union bargaining units are separated and subcontractor unions unify their bargaining channels through the election of a representative union, the burden on original contractors to negotiate separately with numerous subcontractor unions can be reduced.
POSCO's original contractor employer status was recognized in the area of safety. The Gyeongbuk commission considered that POSCO's subcontractor unions cannot independently eliminate risk factors or install safety equipment. The decision on bargaining unit separation was based on criteria including potential conflicts between unions, representativeness of interests, and the nature of work.
If POSCO accepts the commission's ruling, actual negotiations will proceed following a public announcement of the unions' bargaining demands. However, if POSCO considers the ruling unfair, it may file for reconsideration with the National Labor Relations Commission.
