Workers are free to establish or join more than one trade union in a single workplace from July 1, 2011. Until now, establishment of multiple unions in a single workplace was not allowed in Korea. The basic principle of the multiple union system is to guarantee the rights of workers to organize with establishment of ‘One Company, One Bargaining Channel’. Thus, the multiple union system guarantees unlimited rights for workers to organize as stated in the Korean Constitution, but in order to prevent confusion, a unified bargaining channel requirement was introduced under the ‘One Company, One Bargaining’ principle. The unified bargaining channel requirement is stated in Article 29.2 ~ 29.5 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (TULRAA).
Companies are expected to face many difficulties when the multiple union system is implemented, including rising costs for bargaining and personnel management, and a hampered working atmosphere from intense competition among trade unions. As a response, KEF has prepared ‘Guidelines on Collective Bargaining under Union Pluralism’ to minimize confusion in unifying bargaining channels. These Guidelines contain 28 specific measures covering 5 categories; bargaining principles under union pluralism, responding to bargaining demands from trade unions, the unified bargaining channel process, bargaining process and collective bargaining, and labor management under the multiple union system. The following points are the main features of the guidelines.
First, as bargaining channels are unified, the principle of ‘One Company, One Bargaining Channel, One Collective Agreement’ should be respected.
In order to minimize confusion, the TULRAA states the ‘One Company, One Bargaining Channel’ principle as a premise in unifying bargaining channels. Unifying bargaining channels is ‘imperative law’ which mandates that all trade unions participate in the process of unifying the bargaining channel. If employers bargain with trade unions separately, rising bargaining costs, fierce competition among trade unions, and argument about unfair labor practices would bring confusion to the workplace. Therefore, ‘One Company, One Bargaining Channel, One Collective Agreement’ should be the fundamental principle.
Second, employers should flatly refuse any form of unfair bargaining demand.
Employers can refuse to bargain with trade unions in the following cases; bargaining demands made by other trade unions while employers are already in negotiation with another trade union before July 1, 2011 (Article 4 in the Addenda to the TULRAA), bargaining demands made by trade unions more than 3 months before the expiration date of the collective agreement (Article 14.2, Enforcement Decree of the TULRAA), bargaining demands made by trade unions which did not participate in the unified bargaining channel process, and bargaining demands made by trade unions which dropped out of the unified bargaining channel process. This applies in the same way for industry-level unions. Employers can refuse separate bargaining with industry-level unions if they did not participate in the unified bargaining channel process.
Third, employers should take stern measures against any illegal labor disputes called by individual unions under the multiple union system.
Any strikes or labor disputes led by separate unions, except the bargaining representative union, are illegal; therefore, employers should take civil and criminal legal action against unions which individually call for industrial action. The bargaining representative union has the responsibility to direct, manage, and supervise industrial action in compliance with the related laws (Article 29.5, 38(3) of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act)
Fourth, employers should be particularly cautious not to a) intervene in the union duty to provide fair representation or b) commit unfair labor practices.
Under the multiple union system, if there is any discrimination against existing unions without reasonable grounds, the employer could be seen as intervening in the union duty to provide fair representation (Article 29.4 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment
Act). Of special note is that unions can demand that the National Labor Relations Commission issue an order for redress of such discrimination, for the purpose of pressuring employers. To prevent possible confusion under the multiple union system, employers should manage their personnel carefully while at the collective bargaining table.
Fifth, controversial parts of the multiple union system concerning provision of convenient facilities, setting a single bargaining channel and union shop in existing collective bargaining agreements should be revised in a rational manner.
The existing collective bargaining rules are likely to serve as the basis for new collective agreements under the new multiple union system. Given these circumstances, employers would bear too much of the burden unless the existing collective bargaining rules are revised well.
The multiple union system, which is to take effect on July 1, may bring about confusion due to new systems like the single bargaining channel. At this critical juncture, employers should be better prepared for newly introduced union pluralism and deal with it according to law and principles.