Hanwha Ocean Catering Subcontractor Union Wins Right to Bargain With Prime Contractor

A union of a catering subcontractor for Hanwha Ocean can bargain directly with Hanwha Ocean as the prime contractor, according to a new ruling.

The National Labor Relations Commission said Wednesday that it upheld the initial decision in a "request for reconsideration of an objection to the public notice confirming the union demanding bargaining" filed by the Korean Metal Workers' Union on behalf of its Wellive chapter. The decision means the initial ruling—by the Gyeongnam Regional Labor Relations Commission, which held that Hanwha Ocean should issue the notice—was correct. The Welive chapter is a catering subcontractor of Hanwha Ocean.

The commission also ruled on the prime contractor's employer status of the Welive chapter, an issue skipped in the initial decision. Determining the bargaining notice case requires first determining the prime contractor's employer status. "The industrial safety and work environment improvements that the union demanded as bargaining agenda items cannot be carried out by Welive alone," the commission said. "Hanwha Ocean is recognized as an employer in a position to substantially and specifically control and determine working conditions."