100 Days of the 'Yellow Envelope Law': Where Do We Stand?

[Anchor]

The 'Yellow Envelope Law,' which allows subcontracted workers to negotiate directly with their primary contractors, marks its 100th day of implementation tomorrow, June 17. Recent rulings recognizing subcontracted workers in areas such as cafeteria and laundry services as eligible for direct negotiation with primary contractors are bringing significant changes to industrial sites.

Reporter Jeon Hyeong-u has the story.

[Reporter]

Subcontracted workers providing cafeteria, laundry, and shuttle bus services at Hanwha Ocean have consistently demanded direct negotiations with the primary contractor.

[Hanwha Ocean Subcontracted Workers' Union: All workers at Hanwha Ocean must be able to engage in direct negotiations with the primary contractor.]

The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) has ruled that Hanwha Ocean must engage in negotiations with them.

The commission determined that Hanwha Ocean, as the primary contractor, qualifies as an employer under the Trade Union Act because it exerts substantial and concrete control over the safety and working conditions of the subcontracted workers.

The NLRC explained its decision by stating, "Improvements to aging facilities in areas such as kitchens, laundry rooms, and shuttle buses cannot be implemented by the subcontracting firm alone without the cooperation and approval of Hanwha Ocean."

The Ulsan Regional Labor Relations Commission also recognized that Hyundai Motor Company must comply with negotiation demands from 10 subcontracted unions handling cafeteria and security services.

As rulings broadly recognizing the employer status of primary contractors continue, the business community is pushing back.

[Jang Jeong-woo, Head of Labor-Management Cooperation at the Korea Enterprises Federation: We are concerned that confusion will increase as the scope of collective bargaining partners is expanded to include even indirect support and cooperation relationships, rather than just primary-subcontractor relationships directly related to production.]

With the Yellow Envelope Law reaching its 100th day of implementation tomorrow, 1,151 subcontracted unions had demanded negotiations with 434 primary contractors as of June 12.

Among them, 90 primary contractors announced their intent to negotiate, but only 8 have actually begun the process, accounting for just 1.8% of the total.

[Yang Kyung-soo, President of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (June 10): When we opened the lid, we found that there were no employers willing to negotiate. Many companies that initially said they would come to the table are now requesting re-examinations from the National Labor Relations Commission.]

In the early stages of the law's implementation, there is a strong tendency to seek legal judgments.

There are growing concerns that the process—involving regional labor commissions, the national commission, and even administrative lawsuits—is too time-consuming and costly to lead to actual negotiations.

(Video reporting: Bae Moon-san | Video editing: Kim Ho-jin | Source: Metal Workers' Union Shipbuilding Subcontractor Branch | Data provided by the office of Representative Kim So-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.