Hyundai Motor Resumes Special Employment for In-House Subcontractors Halted by COVID-19

Over 450 People Scheduled for On-Site Deployment by Late July
Final Special Hiring to Take Place by Late August
Target to Complete Hiring of 9,500 People This Year

Hyundai Motor Ulsan Plant (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Hyundai Motor Company has resumed the special employment procedure for in-house subcontracted workers, which had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyundai plans to complete the special employment of all 9,500 workers through two rounds of hiring this year.

On the 22nd, Hyundai announced the list of candidates who passed the document screening for the special employment of in-house subcontracted workers working at production plants. The application process took place at the end of January, but subsequent procedures were delayed for about four months due to the spread of COVID-19. After interviews and physical examinations, the final successful candidates will be announced next month and hired as regular employees. The successful candidates will undergo two weeks of on-site practical training and will be assigned to the field by the end of July. The hiring scale is about 450 people.

Earlier, in September last year, Hyundai Motor Company and the labor union agreed to shorten the schedule for special employment of in-house subcontracted workers in their wage and collective bargaining agreement (Wage and Labor Agreement). This means advancing the hiring schedule originally set for 2021 by one year. At that time, they planned to hire an additional 2,000 workers by 2020, aiming to hire a total of 9,500 workers.

Hyundai began hiring in-house subcontracted workers as regular employees in July 2012 and has hired 8,260 workers as regular employees to date. Once this procedure is completed, the number of in-house subcontracted workers specially employed will exceed 8,700.

Hyundai plans to push for the final special employment starting at the end of August. In the last round, the company intends to hire all remaining in-house subcontracted workers, approximately 800 people, as regular employees. However, since the special employment schedule that began earlier this year resumed this month due to the impact of COVID-19, there is a possibility that the final schedule may also be postponed or delayed depending on the spread of COVID-19.

Accordingly, Hyundai will put an end to the illegal dispatch issue of in-house subcontracting after 10 years since the Supreme Court ruling in 2010. At that time, the Supreme Court recognized Hyundai’s in-house subcontracting as illegal dispatch, and Hyundai conducted three rounds of special consultations with the workers from 2014 to 2017. Through this, they agreed to directly employ 9,500 workers at all domestic plants including Ulsan, Jeonju, and Asan.

However, there remains a possibility of continued controversy over illegal dispatch surrounding Hyundai. In February this year, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that workers belonging to Hyundai’s second-tier subcontractors also fall under illegal dispatch. With court rulings continuing in the direction that even second-tier subcontracted workers must be directly employed regardless of their job content, there is speculation that Hyundai will find it difficult to completely resolve the issue of non-regular workers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.