Recent Labor Trends

With the introduction of the multiple union system in July 1, this year, 398 new trade unions have been established as of August 23. However, the attempts by labor groups to systemically organize the new unions didn’t seem to be successful, since 86% of the new unions did not join umbrella unions.

Trade groups are now focusing on strengthening the vested rights of existing trade unions and preparing to bring more new unions together. To preserve their vested rights, labor groups are insisting that a union in a collective bargaining process on July 1, 2011, should continue to have the status of being a representative union. However, as the government has indicated that the Trade Union Act was revised on January 1, 2010, any union in a collective bargaining process on July 1, 2011, cannot have this status.

In particular, labor groups are planning legal action to see representative union status given to trade unions currently in the collective bargaining process. This is based on a recent provisional ruling by the Seoul District Court regarding an application by the Korea Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU) for collective bargaining request against KEC (August 3, 2011), in which the Court approved the unions in the collective bargaining process on July 1, 2011, to have representative union status.

It is not simple to universally apply the Court’s decision since it is only provisional, and not an actual lawsuit. The decision reflects the special circumstances of the workplace (the collective bargaining process was ongoing in 2010). However, industrial unions such as the KMWU are planning to continue legal action and protests in cooperation with union branches that lost their authority as representative union position due to the establishment of new trade unions after July 1, 2011. Labor groups are expected to seek to maintain their influence by hindering workers from joining these new trade unions, using the provisional decision as support.

Meanwhile, the government is expected to continue considering January 1, 2010 as the actual enforcement date of the Trade Union Act. In addition to this, the KEC is expected to appeal the provisional decision.

Labor groups are expected to see political activity as their main agenda in the 2^nd half of 2011, while strengthening their alliances with political groups. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) is seeking ways to reinforce their policy network with both the ruling and opposition parties towards the upcoming general and presidential elections, but internal discord is continuing due to conflicts of interest between regional branches or different factions.

In particular, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) is advocating systematization of trade unions at workplaces and reinforcement of political activities, but is expected to focus more on such political activities as consolidation with progressive political groups. As their main agenda in the 2^nd half of 2011, the KCTU is suggesting ① organization of trade unions in industrial complexes, the retail industry, and companies without trade unions; ② politicization of industrial conflicts in such workplaces as Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction (HHIC), and Yoosung Enterprise; ③ and, as already mentioned, unification with progressive political groups.

The leadership of the KCTU is planning to entrust organizing unions at workplace level to industrial unions or regional branches, and focus on political activity. The leadership assumes that reinforcing its political influence through alliance with political parties such as the Democratic Labor Party, is the only way to compensate for its weakened influence in the workplace.

While failing to take control of long-term industrial issues, the KCTU’s leadership is seeking to create political issues as a way to solve things through activities directed against the Grand National Party (GNP). The KCTU is searching for an exit from these long-term industrial disputes by politicizing the conflict at HHIC during its convention on August 20, 2011.

KCTU leadership is maintaining its stance that it will not actively intervene in HHIC disputes, since those issues are being dealt with by progressive democratic groups such as the New Progressive Party (NPP), and the Hope Bus committee. Meanwhile, the NPP is continuing its activities to secure control of HHIC issues through participation in such things as Hope Bus rallies. It also held a press conference as an introduction to the hunger strike by Mr. Kim Young-hoon, the president of the KCTU,.

As the leadership of the KCTU has failed to take control of long-term industrial disputes with such companies as HHIC and Yoosung Enterprise, it is now trying to move the focus off these issues to revision of labor law and various anti-GNP activities. The leadership is hoping to make the issues in workplaces a political concern, taking opportunity at the HHIC hearing on August 18, 2011.

With the “Hope Rally”, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has been thinking of fighting government policies with demonstrations. On August 20, KCTU staged an anti-government and anti-Grand National Party demonstration in Seoul calling for a resolution to the Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction layoffs.

Under the theme of ‘Breathe new life into Korea!’, the KCTU held a nationwide labor convention and massive rally against government labor policies on August 20. At the National Labor Convention, the KCTU demanded pro-business & anti-labor policies be scrapped and that the Grand National Party, as well as President Lee Myung-bak should be punished. The convention was not about the labor dispute with Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction. Meanwhile, the “Hope Rally” against government policy, jointly hosted by the KCTU and several civic groups, dealt with the labor disputes at Hanjin.

After this “Hope Rally”, the KCTU is expected to speed up their efforts to have progressive parties merge, and host a continuous nationwide forum and political convention regarding this matter.

Ahead of the beginning of National Assembly session, both national umbrella trade unions, the KCTU and the FKTU, may form a coalition demanding revisions to the Trade Union Act. However, a full-scale coalition seems very unlikely due to the conflict over unionization under the new multiple trade union system. The KCTU and FKTU will host joint conferences on revision of the Trade Union Act on October 12~13 and November 17~18.

Following implementation of the multiple union system, there seems to be little chance of the KCTU and FCTU forming a “grand coalition” due to heated competition for control of unionization, increasing opposition within the unions to cooperate, and immensely different interests between unions.

Meanwhile, conflicts over unionization are escalating in the port sector (where the FKTU has long enjoyed a monopoly in past years) as the KCTU begins to organize new trade unions in ports. Under the multiple union system, many unions are being established in the Pohang, Onsan, Gwangyang and Ulsan areas. As new trade unions exercise labor supply rights, FKTU’s exclusive control over labor supply rights will likely decrease.