[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The Naver labor union is set to intensify strike actions at five affiliates where collective bargaining agreements have not been reached.
The Naver Branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ Chemical, Textile, and Food Workers’ Union (hereafter referred to as the Naver Branch) held a press briefing at 10 a.m. on the 26th at Sangyeonjae in Jung-gu, Seoul, to explain the direction of collective actions at the five affiliates.
At the briefing, the Naver Branch stated that the fundamental reason for the breakdown in negotiations and the escalation to disputes at the five affiliates is that "the parent company, Naver, has neglected the invisible labor of workers at these five affiliates." They explained that all union members will engage in collective actions in solidarity until agreements are reached at these affiliates.
According to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, the five affiliates?Green Web Service, NIT Service (NIT), N Tech Service (NTS), Incomes, and Com Partner?have obtained legal rights to strike and other dispute actions. These affiliates are subsidiaries of Naver I&S, which is wholly owned by Naver, making them Naver’s grandchild companies. Approximately 2,500 employees work at these five affiliates.
According to the joint statement, regarding wages, the lowest starting salary among the five affiliates was around 24 million to 25 million KRW annually (as of 2021), which is about 20 million KRW less compared to Naver. Additionally, the monthly 300,000 KRW personal work support allowance paid by Naver and some affiliates is not provided at all to these five affiliates.
The joint statement asserted, "Considering the ownership structure and business relationships of the five affiliates, active involvement and decision-making by Naver, the top controlling company, is essential to improve wages and welfare, which are key to concluding collective bargaining agreements at the five affiliates."
According to the joint statement, labor dispute mediators from three regional labor relations commissions, who conducted two rounds of dispute mediation before the strike vote, also expressed that the problem cannot be resolved without intervention from the parent company, Naver.
Oh Seyoon, head of the Naver Branch (joint statement), said, “All members of the five affiliates work under the name of Naver and contribute to Naver’s growth, but they have not been properly recognized for the value of their labor. The disparities in wages, welfare, and even vacation among the overall working conditions are worsening. Invisible labor should not be discriminated against, and it is concerning that Naver, which advocates stakeholder-centered sustainable management, is perpetuating an in-house subcontracting structure that deepens labor disparities.”
Seo Seungwook, head of the Kakao Branch (Crew Union), expressed solidarity, stating, “The issues faced by workers at Naver’s operating corporations (the five affiliates) are the issues of IT workers. IT workers will stand with Naver workers until the wrongful practice of discrimination is changed.”
The joint statement, which pioneered new approaches such as using cheering balloons and partial strikes followed by group movie viewings of Avengers during the first strike action in the internet and gaming industry in 2019, plans to incorporate game elements into this strike action to conduct a “struggle enjoyed to achieve goals.”
The strike actions are categorized by intensity levels: Mild Flavor, Gentle Flavor, Regular Flavor, Spicy Flavor, and Very Spicy Flavor. Each “flavor” corresponds to a “quest” of collective actions. If a certain number of union members participate in the dispute action corresponding to a quest, the next quest’s dispute action will be initiated. The “Very Spicy Flavor” collective action includes the highest-level dispute action, the “strike.”
Currently, the joint statement is conducting Mild Flavor collective actions such as commenting on the cafe’s strike start announcement post and following the union’s official SNS accounts, with plans to gradually escalate the intensity of collective actions in the future.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
