hankyoreh

By Kim So-youn　

July 1 marks the beginning of the implementation of the multiple union system, which is expected to bring a sea change to labor-management relations. Implementation will mean a shift from a system permitting only one labor union per company to one that allows many unions for the same company. Under the present system, it has been possible to establish multiple unions for a single workplace only in cases of different organizational targets, as in regular and temporary workers, or in cases of mergers and acquisitions, but these regulations are set to disappear going ahead. The following are some of the changes predicted for the multiple trade union system, as well as some of the principal points of contention.

The labor sector is viewing the multiple unions as a double-edged sword. The prediction is that they could be beneficial for the labor movement, but that there is also a lot to lose. The most highly anticipated effect is an increase in organizational numbers. With the newfound freedom in union establishment, observers are hoping to see a small rise in labor union membership, which has fallen to 10.1 percent. But observers are also voicing concerns about the possibility of major side effects, including labor-labor conflict, the weakening of industry unions and minority unions with bargaining window consolidation, and the establishment of “government-controlled unions.”

Unions are likely to be established at workplaces that either lack unions completely or have only small unions, with Samsung and POSCO being leading examples. The Samsung Group has traditionally blocked the formation of unions at affiliates by exploiting the “one company, one union” provision in labor law to establish “phantom unions” that exist on paper but are not active, a tactic that will no longer be possible in the multiple trade union era.

POSCO currently has a union with only around twenty members, but a new union may be formed due to the inadequacy of its efforts. The labor sector, including the two major labor federations, is joining forces with the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), New Progressive Party (NPP), and other political forces to actively push the establishment of unions within Samsung and POSCO.

A DLP official said, “There are indeed movements afoot to establish labor unions in some of the Samsung affiliates.”

Also foreseeable is the formation of multiple unions for workers within a single company whose positions and forms of employment differ. Workers such as clerical staff and temporary employees are likely to establish new unions in cases where they feel the existing union is not adequately representing their interests owing to their differing wages and working conditions. Particular attention is focusing on the recruitment of temporary workers. Union membership for the 8.31 million such workers is in the 2 to 3 percent range, despite their accounting for 48.7 percent of all workers.

“If the labor committee accepts the separation of bargaining units, even a minority union will be able to engage in bargaining individually,” said Kim Cheol-hui, a labor attorney with the Chamteo law office.

“There is also the possibility that the multiple unions will accept temporary workers as members or ally themselves with temporary worker unions in order to become majority unions and assure themselves bargaining power,” Kim added.

But some are predicting that organizational expansion is unlikely given the failure to resolve issues such as a non-recognition of the “worker” status of some temporary employees and contracting companies’ denial of employer status over subcontracting workers.

Oh Min-gyu, a member of the Policy Committee for the National Council of Temporary Worker Unions, said, “Special employment workers like study sheet instructors are having trouble establishing unions because they are not recognized as workers at all, while in-house subcontracting workers cannot even bargain with their contracting companies.”

“Unless improvement are made in these basic areas, there will be a lot of difficulties in increasing organization among temporary workers,” Oh added.

The labor sector is arguing forcefully for the consolidation of bargaining windows even if multiple unions are established. This stems from concerns about the effective loss of labor rights by minority unions as majority unions exert bargaining and strike authority, as well as the weakening of industry unions, which are regarded as a labor movement alternative. Industry union chapters at the various workplaces are also subject to bargaining window consolidation.

“The workplaces with multiple unions will inevitably see diminished activity by industry unions as the center of gravity in bargaining gathers at the different companies owing to window consolidations and the industry chapters tailor union policy to company benefits [such as wages and working companies] in order to ensure union member numbers,” said Lee Ju-ho, head of the strategy and planning team for the Korea Health and Medical Workers’ Union, an industry union within the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. “Employers are already trying their hardest to avoid taking part in centralized industry bargaining, and it seems likely that this trend will gain even more steam, with bargaining window consolidation serving as a pretext.”

Observers are also pointing to the strong likelihood that competition between unions to expand their numbers will lead to conflict. Since the bargaining and strike authority that determines union power lies with the majority union, friction is being predicted for the multiple union workplaces as unions try to make off with members. The phenomenon is expected to be especially severe in cases where a new union appears with close connections to the management or under different umbrella organizations.

Also working against the labor world is the stagnant condition of the labor movement. In a recently published issue of Monthly Labor Review, Korea Labor Institute researcher Bae Kiu-sik said, “Multiple unions may be used as an offensive weapon when the labor movement is on the upswing, but when it is in a period of stagnation like today they can actually be exploited by employers.”

“Concerns in the labor world may grow because of this establishment of government-controlled unions,” Bae added.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]