Labor commission vows full effort to embed contractor bargaining rules

The National Labor Relations Commission marked 100 days since the revised Trade Union Act — commonly known as the yellow-envelope law — took effect, convening with regional labor commissions to review the state of contractor bargaining and discuss measures to help the rules take hold in the second half of the year.

The commission held its second-quarter national labor commission chairpersons' meeting in Seoul on Thursday, with the heads of all 13 regional labor commissions in attendance.

The meeting was organized to conduct a midterm review of the revised Trade Union Act, which took effect March 10, and to prepare for an expected rise in contractor-related labor dispute mediation cases in the second half of the year.

Participants shared data on adjudication and mediation cases filed under the revised law, along with notable cases from each regional commission. Discussion focused particularly on how to handle anticipated labor disputes tied to contractor bargaining in the second half of the year, and on building a closer coordination framework with regional offices of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The revised law expands the scope of primary contractors' employer responsibilities and strengthens the bargaining rights of subcontracted workers. Since it took effect, subcontractor unions have filed a wave of bargaining demands against primary contractors, raising the profile of the labor commissions' role.

Park Su-geun, chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission, said the commission was doing its utmost to provide swift labor dispute resolution services under the revised law so that contractor bargaining could take root on the ground. "We will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Employment and Labor to facilitate dialogue between primary and subcontracted parties and lay the groundwork for labor-management cooperation," he added.

Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor also attended the meeting. "For the intent of the revised law to take stable hold on the ground, fair and consistent rulings by the labor commissions are essential," Kim said, adding that the ministry would actively guide and support smooth contractor bargaining through its regional offices.

According to the ministry, unions at 1,161 subcontractor workplaces had filed bargaining demands against 439 primary contractor workplaces since the revised law took effect through June 19, with approximately 164,000 union members involved. A 100-day review found that the feared "bargaining tsunami" and indiscriminate fragmentation of bargaining units had not materialized, the ministry said.