Call center workers demand meeting with labor minister as public institutions stall on bargaining

Call center workers at public institutions have demanded a meeting with Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon, saying their parent agencies continue to dodge collective bargaining even after the revised Trade Union Act — commonly known as the "yellow envelope law" — took effect.

The call center branch of the Service General Union, affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, launched a sit-in protest Monday outside the convention room on the fifth floor of the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office in Jung-gu, Seoul.

Workers from call centers at the National Tax Service, the Korea Student Aid Foundation and the Seoul Housing and Communities Corp. (SH) took part in the demonstration. They said collective bargaining had yet to take place despite labor relations commissions having recognized each institution as a principal employer.

"The National Tax Service, the Korea Student Aid Foundation and SH have all been recognized as principal employers by the labor commissions, yet they are evading or delaying bargaining," the union said. "This violates workers' fundamental labor rights and abandons the employer obligations set out under the revised union law."

The union also called on Kim to intervene directly, saying the ministry must not stand by while public institutions avoid their bargaining obligations.

Nam Mi-gyeong, head of the Modu's Call Center branch, said the ministry must not become an institution that enables public institutions to dodge bargaining. "Minister Kim Young-hoon should meet with call center workers before Tuesday's Cabinet meeting and hear what is happening on the ground," she said.

The union urged Kim to personally meet with the commissioner of the National Tax Service, the president of the Korea Student Aid Foundation and the chief of SH to press them to fulfill their bargaining obligations. It also called on the ministry to conduct thorough oversight of public institutions and take action against any interference with bargaining or unfair labor practices.