Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Unions threaten strikes as ‘yellow envelope law’ comes into force
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions hold a rally in central Seoul, Tuesday, as the "yellow envelope law" comes into force. Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
Expanded labor rights trigger wave of bargaining demands, alarming business groups
Subcontracted workers represented by unions across various industries are stepping up demands for direct talks with parent companies after Korea’s so-called “yellow envelope law” came into force Tuesday, with labor leaders preparing strikes against firms that refuse to negotiate.
Amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act took effect, expanding the legal definition of an employer to include firms that exercise significant control over working conditions, even without a direct employment contract with subcontracted workers.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a powerful umbrella labor organization with more than 1 million members, expects a major wave of bargaining demands from these workers in the coming weeks. The KCTU and its partner unions have begun sending bargaining notices to companies that oversee subcontracted work on behalf of nearly 140,000 subcontracted workers, with plans to present the overall scale of the campaign at a press briefing later this month.
“In line with the purpose of the law, the real employer must come forward and sit down to talk with subcontracted workers, and the system must work that way in line with the spirit of the amendment,” a KCTU official told The Korea Times. “If the real employer still refuses to show up, we are planning protests that will directly target them next month.”
On the first day of the law’s implementation, subcontracted parcel delivery drivers, airport ground crews and university custodial and security workers staged rallies, demanding that the primary contractors who dictate their working conditions meet them at the bargaining table.
Unionized subcontracted workers call for direct talks with Incheon International Airport Corp. at Incheon International Airport, Tuesday. Newsis
Outside CJ Logistics’ central Seoul headquarters, a parcel delivery union called for direct negotiations with the company, saying it effectively controls subcontracted drivers’ schedules and working conditions. At Incheon International Airport, unionized subcontracted workers urged the airport operator to enter direct talks. Meanwhile, cleaning and security workers at Yonsei University rallied on campus, pressing the administration to bargain with them directly rather than shifting responsibility to outsourcing firms.
The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), another major umbrella organization, is also moving quickly.
“There are more than 7 million workers in special employment, platform work and freelance positions and they are increasing in number rapidly, but many of them remain exposed to legal blind spots and precarious employment conditions,” Ryu Ki-seop, secretary-general of the FKTU, said in a statement released Tuesday. “We will make every effort to expand our organizing efforts so that these workers can have their rights protected and the value of their labor recognized within the umbrella of unions.”
Under the law, subcontractor unions can demand collective bargaining not only with their direct employer but also with the large corporations that set the framework for their work, though final determinations on employer status will rest with the National Labor Relations Commission under the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Companies with extensive outsourcing chains — such as Hyundai Motor, linked to thousands of partner firms — and major shipbuilders — such as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries — are widely viewed as particularly vulnerable to overlapping bargaining demands and potential industrial actions.
Business groups have reacted with alarm, saying the law is causing a surge in labor demands and confusion over who is responsible for which issues.
“The government and the labor commission must make objective and fair determinations on whether the principal contractor can be considered an employer, in accordance with the recently announced interpretive guidelines,” the Korea Enterprises Federation said in a statement. “They must also concentrate their administrative capacity and establish a strict decision-making framework to prevent any bargaining demands or industrial actions by the labor side that deviate from the bargaining procedure manual.”