KCTU demands scrapping of government bargaining guidelines, citing labor autonomy violations

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions called for the immediate scrapping of a government directive defining which management performance bonuses and business decisions are subject to labor disputes. The union argued that the scope of collective bargaining should be determined by labor and management — not the government — and that the guidelines effectively help employers avoid the negotiating table.

The KCTU issued a statement Thursday criticizing the Ministry of Employment and Labor's newly released "Implementation Guidelines on the Scope of Labor Disputes Including Management Performance Bonuses," calling it "an employer-biased directive that violates the three fundamental labor rights guaranteed by the Constitution and contravenes the Trade Union Act, which is premised on labor-management autonomy."

The ministry announced Thursday that demands for performance bonuses tied to a fixed ratio of corporate profits do not qualify as mandatory subjects of collective bargaining or as grounds for labor dispute mediation and industrial action. It also set out criteria holding that business management decisions themselves are, in principle, not mandatory bargaining subjects.

The KCTU rebuffed that position, saying whether performance bonuses belong on the bargaining table is a matter for labor and management to decide. The union argued that if the government sets overly rigid standards for what unions may demand, even calls for a fair share of the fruits of labor become difficult to raise during negotiations.

"It is putting the cart before the horse for the government to decide what falls within the scope of collective bargaining," the KCTU said. "In effect, this gives employers a free pass to dodge negotiations."

The union also criticized the criteria on business management decisions as an arbitrary narrowing of what constitutes a labor dispute. It said the introduction of AI and new technologies, as well as the sale or relocation of workplaces, directly affects workers' employment and working conditions, yet the government has excluded those decisions from the scope of bargaining.

The KCTU said limiting the bargaining scope to cases where changes in working conditions are "objectively foreseeable" makes it harder for workers to respond proactively to job insecurity. The union warned that workers could be blocked from acting until a company finalizes a detailed restructuring plan, constraining their ability to demand job security and exercise their rights.

The KCTU also pushed back against provisions governing Labor Relations Commission mediation procedures. Under the directive, if a union files for mediation while demanding profit-linked bonuses or challenging a business management decision, the commission is to recommend that the union revise its demands — and issue an administrative guidance order if the union refuses. The guidelines also indicate that an employer's refusal to bargain on such matters would be difficult to classify as an unfair labor practice.

The KCTU said these procedural standards undermine the neutrality of the Labor Relations Commission and could restrict unions' lawful right to industrial action.

"We will wage a vigorous campaign to scrap a directive that violates the three fundamental labor rights enshrined in the Constitution and only inflames labor-management disputes," the KCTU said.