For the first time since the Yellow Envelope Law (the amended Trade Union Act) took effect, a subcontractor union’s request to split a bargaining unit was denied. At the same time, authorities found that the prime contractor qualifies as an employer, clearing the way for bargaining under a unified bargaining channel.
On April 9, the Central Labor Relations Commission said the Seoul Regional Labor Commission dismissed a petition by the KCTU-affiliated National Courier Union to split the bargaining unit in its case against Coupang CLS.
Earlier, the FKTU-affiliated National Delivery Industry Union had demanded bargaining with Coupang CLS, and Coupang CLS publicly acknowledged that demand. The KCTU-affiliated delivery union then asked to negotiate separately from the FKTU and filed a petition with the Seoul commission to split the bargaining unit.
The Seoul commission rejected the petition, saying it carefully considered that members of the different unions showed no significant differences in working conditions or employment arrangements. The panel also weighed the need to preserve a stable and efficient bargaining system through a single bargaining channel.
By contrast, the commission approved petitions from subcontractor unions at the call centers of Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank, and KB Kookmin Card to split bargaining units.
Coupang CLS acknowledged its employer status over subcontracted workers and said it will respond to the subcontractor union’s bargaining demands.
On the same day, the Ulsan Regional Labor Commission dismissed all petitions filed by the KCTU-affiliated National Plant Construction Workers’ Union seeking to split bargaining units against three prime contractors — SK Energy, S-OIL, and Korea Zinc.
The Ulsan commission said it denied the petitions because the unions share similar interests on industrial safety issues, and splitting the bargaining units could create disparities in working conditions between unions.
However, the Ulsan commission recognized the prime contractors’ employer status with respect to safety-related matters.
The commission found that maintenance and repair work are essential to the prime contractors’ operations, and that safety guidelines and penalties for violations apply to subcontracted workers as well. Because authority over starting and stopping work and responsibility for improving safety facilities rests with the prime contractors, the panel concluded that the prime contractors exercise substantial, specific control over occupational safety and health bargaining issues.
The Jeonnam Regional Labor Commission reached a different conclusion. It recognized employer status and granted the KCTU-affiliated Construction Union’s petition to split the bargaining unit in its case against the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
The Construction Union asked the panel to separate the distribution (power distribution) segment from KEPCO’s overall subcontractor bargaining unit. The Jeonnam commission found that the distribution sector — covering transmission, substations, metering, customer support, and facility and environmental maintenance — involves working conditions and environments that differ from those of KEPCO’s other subsidiaries or contractors, making a separate bargaining unit necessary.
The panel also recognized KEPCO as an employer. It said KEPCO, as the owner and manager of power facilities — utility poles, transformers, and switchgear — exerts direct control over subcontracted workers’ workspaces. The commission concluded that KEPCO is in a position to materially govern and determine subcontracted workers’ working conditions and therefore qualifies as an employer under the Trade Union Act.
