[The Shadow of Multiple Unions] Intense Competition in Public Sector and Platforms... Increased Labor Burden

[Asia Economy Reporters Jehoon Yoo, Seungjin Lee] "When the representative union declares that it will raise the base salary by 10,000 won, other unions counter by demanding 15,000 won. In this process, the level of demands escalates gradually. This becomes a headache for the company."

The adverse effects of power competition among multiple unions are already unfolding across various workplaces in Korean companies. Especially as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) have intensified their competition to become the 'number one union,' this phenomenon has deepened. Business circles and expert groups are voicing the need for building trust between labor and management and for adherence to social responsibilities, as the labor burden caused by the competition for prominence among multiple unions continues to grow.

Power Competition Between Two Major Unions Spreading to Public and Platform Sectors

Until before the 2000s, the power conflicts between the two major unions were mainly centered on large corporations and regular workers, but over the past 20 years, they have expanded into so-called 'blue ocean' areas such as unorganized and irregular workers. After the enactment of the Irregular Workers Act (Act on the Protection of Fixed-term and Part-time Workers, etc.) during the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2007, conflicts frequently occurred among fixed-term, dispatched workers, and subcontractors.

In the mid to late 2010s, public institutions became direct targets of conflict. Especially when President Moon Jae-in declared the regularization of irregular workers in public institutions in May 2017, public institutions at all levels became battlegrounds for the two major unions. Typical examples include Incheon International Airport Corporation and Korea Expressway Corporation.

In the case of Incheon Airport, conflicts between the two major unions began as early as the formation of the 'Labor-Management-Expert Committee' to discuss the regularization of irregular workers in 2017, and currently, including the regular workers' unions, 10 unions are engaged in a free-for-all over the issue of regularization. For example, when Incheon Airport Corporation announced a plan for direct employment of security screening personnel in June last year, security guards belonging to the KCTU Public Transport Workers' Union Incheon Airport Branch demanded renegotiation on the scope of direct employment, arguing that security guards were excluded from the direct employment target. Regarding the method of direct employment, the security screening union, which was a single union under the FKTU, has split into four unions with differing opinions.

Recently, the main battleground for competition between the two major unions has become the realm of 'platform labor.' Platform labor refers to labor and services provided through social networking services (SNS), applications, etc., including delivery, courier, designated driver, and domestic care services. These jobs typically fall under special employment types and are not recognized as employees.

This year, the competition to organize delivery workers has become full-fledged. While the KCTU-centered delivery union has already established its foundation, the FKTU has also expanded its presence by establishing eight branches as of last month. Both sides are engaged in a war of nerves, accusing each other of 'radical protest behaviors' and 'management interference in unions.' Delivery workers, whose demand surged due to COVID-19, are also a powder keg.

Increased Labor Burden and Inter-Union Conflicts in Companies

This competition between the two major unions has had the positive effect of discovering and bringing to the agenda labor sectors that were marginalized compared to large factories and regular workers, but on the other hand, business circles assess that it has also significantly increased labor burdens for individual companies and conflicts among workers.

Especially under the relatively labor-friendly current government, the competition between the two major unions for the position of the number one union has intensified this phenomenon, according to business circles. The KCTU, which became the number one union by membership in 2018, recently announced that it intends to recommend five of the nine worker representatives on the Minimum Wage Commission. Traditionally, the FKTU, as the number one union, recommended five worker representatives, and the KCTU recommended four.

A business official said, "When the two major unions form multiple unions within a single workplace, a structure inevitably forms where they compete for representative bargaining rights through a competition for prominence. From the company's perspective, since it cannot side with either party, it ends up in a situation where it cannot do anything, and labor-related costs only increase."

Concerns are also growing that some workers may suffer unintended damage amid this competition. For example, within the delivery platform where the two major unions are competitively organizing, there are also small rider groups such as the Rider Union besides the KCTU and FKTU. As the two major unions grow in size within the platform, there are concerns that the voices of riders belonging to smaller organizations may be drowned out.

An official from a domestic public institution said, "Taking Incheon Airport as an example, the grand cause of regularizing irregular workers escalated into a direct employment issue due to government intervention and competition for prominence, which led to conflicts between regular and irregular workers, and among irregular workers themselves, spreading the conflict patterns. As a result, public institutions have to spend considerable tangible and intangible costs on inter-union and labor-management conflicts."

"Building Trust Between Labor and Management and Adhering to Social Responsibilities"

Experts advise that building trust between labor and management is necessary. Since the establishment of unions is a freedom of workers, efforts to manage conflicts at an appropriate level are important. Another business official said, "Multiple unions are a choice of union members, which paradoxically proves that there were problems in communication between labor and management in the past. It seems important for companies to build trust between labor and management so that individual workers can make rational choices."

Professor Byunghoon Lee of Chung-Ang University emphasized, "As the unstable and tight labor market continues, making 'big compromises' difficult, conflicts between labor unions that must maximize the interests of their members are also becoming entrenched. Just as unions emphasize social responsibility to companies, we must not forget that unions also have an obligation to fulfill social responsibilities."