Photo : YONHAP News
Unions representing subcontracted workers at 407 workplaces have demanded collective bargaining with 221 primary contractors under a revised law on labor unions that took effect Tuesday.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday that 143 of the contractors were private companies and 78 were public institutions, with about 81-thousand-600 subcontracted workers involved in the collective bargaining requests.
The ministry said it compiled the figures to assess on-site conditions and provide guidance since the implementation of the so-called Yellow Envelope Act, which broadens workers’ collective bargaining rights.
Among the workers seeking negotiations, about 67-thousand-200 belonged to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, 92-hundred to the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and roughly five thousand to unaffiliated unions.
Subcontracted unions that want separate negotiations can apply to the labor relations commission, and the ministry said 31 such applications were filed on the first day.
The commission will first determine whether the primary contractor qualifies as the employer, and if it does, will decide whether to grant the request based on workplace conditions.