GEOJE — Six members of the Geoje, Tongyeong and Goseong shipbuilding subcontract branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union climbed a crane at Hanwha Ocean's (042660) shipyard on Sept. 30 to begin a high-altitude protest demanding direct bargaining with the prime contractor. Hanwha Ocean expressed regret on the 1st, calling the action an "illegal occupation."
At issue is whether Hanwha Ocean is obliged to bargain directly with the subcontractors' union. The Labor Relations Commission recognized Hanwha Ocean as an employer with respect to the union's Wellive branch. Hanwha Ocean challenged that ruling, filing an administrative lawsuit and a request for a stay of execution on July 20 of this year. The company said the filing was "intended to obtain a clear judicial determination on the scope of employer status between prime contractors and subcontractors," adding that "if a ruling finds that a bargaining obligation exists, we will respect it and proceed with follow-up steps."
Hanwha Ocean says it is willing to bargain with the subcontract branch. The company said it had posted the required public notice of the bargaining request and had expressed the same position during corrective-action and mediation proceedings. It said no progress had been made, however, because the subcontract branch is insisting on joint bargaining together with the Wellive branch. "If the subcontract branch changes its position to separate bargaining, we will respond immediately," Hanwha Ocean said.
The company characterized the protest as "an occupation of essential production facilities that are in operation, an illegal occupation that falls far outside the bounds of legitimate industrial action." It said the action could constitute a violation of the Trade Union Act as well as the crime of obstruction of business.
Earlier this year, Hanwha Ocean arranged for a combined 89 billion won ($63 million) in performance bonuses to be paid to about 10,000 workers at its partner firms at the same rate as for the prime contractor's own employees. It also withdrew a 47 billion won damages suit that Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering had previously filed against the subcontract branch. The company said it would "continue efforts to improve conditions at partner firms, while responding firmly in accordance with the law and established principles to illegal acts and acts that threaten safety," and urged the protesters to return to the worksite.
The union sees it differently. The Metal Workers' Union Gyeongnam regional branch said on the same day that "it is Hanwha Ocean, in refusing the prime-contractor bargaining guaranteed by law, that has driven subcontract workers up onto a crane." The regional branch said Hanwha Ocean "is ignoring the intent of the revised Trade Union Act and devoting itself to stalling for time in order to avoid and obstruct bargaining with the prime contractor," and that the company "ignored to the very end the voices of subcontract workers who had called for prime-contractor bargaining for 218 days."
The regional branch also placed blame on the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the government. "Where is the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which pushed through the presidential decree that subcontract workers opposed?" it said, adding that "the promise to make sure there would be no obstacles to prime-contractor bargaining has vanished, leaving only administrative bureaucrats standing by." It went on to say that "the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which are standing by as bargaining with prime contractors breaks down across the country, also bear responsibility."
