A prime contractor and a subcontractor's labor union have signed a collective agreement through direct bargaining, the second such case since the revised Trade Union Act, known as the "yellow envelope law," took effect. It is the first prime-subcontractor collective agreement at a mid-sized company.
The Bucheon branch office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Jungbu Regional Employment and Labor Office said on the 17th that Hangang EMP, a construction waste treatment company in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, and the Hangang Ready-Mixed Concrete Transport Workers' Union, a subcontractor union, signed a prime-subcontractor collective agreement on the 16th. The ministry said it was the second case after Hyundai Steel since the revised Trade Union Act took effect on March 10 this year.
The bargaining began when the subcontractor union requested negotiations with Hangang EMP, the prime contractor, on April 22. A process to unify bargaining channels, which determines the bargaining counterpart and procedures, followed a ruling by the labor relations commission, and full negotiations between the prime contractor and the subcontractor began last month.
The agreement centers on job security and improved conditions for subcontracted workers. The two sides agreed to promote job security for subcontracted workers employed by staffing agencies and to improve their treatment. They also reached common ground on allowances tied to vehicle dispatch, a key point of contention at the worksite, after continued discussions.
The Bucheon branch office provided guidance and support throughout the bargaining process, from the subcontractor union's initial request for negotiations to the signing of the agreement.
"This agreement is a case in which labor and management at both the prime contractor and the subcontractor achieved job security and better working conditions for subcontracted workers through dialogue," said Shin Dong-sul, head of the Bucheon branch office of the Jungbu Regional Employment and Labor Office. "We will provide support so that a bargaining culture of mutual growth between prime contractors and subcontractors can take root at industrial worksites."
