The National Labor Relations Commission has recognized the Catholic Educational Foundation (Catholic Hakwon), which operates Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, as a contracting employer with a duty to bargain. The commission also ruled that Kukdong Engineering & Construction and DL Construction are obligated to negotiate with unions.
The commission said on the 1st that it had overturned an initial ruling in a review of a case concerning the public notice of a bargaining request filed against the Catholic Educational Foundation's Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. The initial ruling had not recognized the operator's status as an employer, but the review reversed that finding.
The commission found that the Catholic Educational Foundation bears a duty to bargain over workplace safety conditions, including rest facilities, which the union had put forward as bargaining items. Even without a direct contract with the workers, the commission said, the operator qualifies as an "employer outside the contract" because it can substantially and specifically control and determine working conditions.
In the review cases involving public notices of bargaining requests at Kukdong Engineering & Construction and DL Construction, the commission upheld the initial rulings that recognized the two companies as contracting employers.
