Naver's 9 Affiliates Agree on 5.7~8.5% Wage Increase

Members of the Naver labor union "Gongdongseongmyeong" (National Chemical Fiber Food Industry Labor Union Naver Branch) are holding a press conference for the "Struggle Enjoyed to Achieve - Full Power Up Project" on the morning of the 26th at Sangyeonjae, Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The labor and management of nine Naver affiliates have jointly concluded the 2022 wage and collective bargaining agreement, centered on a wage increase of 5.7% to 8.5%, after a long 1 year and 2 months.

The Naver branch of the National Chemical Fiber Food Industry Labor Union (Hwaseom Nojo), under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), announced on the 27th that it has completed wage and collective bargaining negotiations for five affiliates under Naver I&S.

The five affiliates under Naver I&S for which the union completed wage and collective bargaining negotiations are Entech Service (NTS), NIT Service (NIT), Com Partners, Green Web Service, and Incomes.

The union stated, "After a dispute period lasting up to six months, the five affiliates resumed negotiations sequentially from last October, reached a tentative agreement, and finalized the wage and collective agreement through a ratification vote. Among them, NTS, which had the longest dispute period, reached a tentative agreement after negotiations on the 19th and passed the ratification vote held on the 22nd."

The reason for the difficulties in this year's wage and collective bargaining was the issue of discrimination among affiliates. The union presented a joint demand to reduce labor condition disparities among the five affiliates under Naver I&S in the 2022 negotiations. The union demanded ▲a 10% salary increase for new employees at affiliates, whose starting salaries are only 50-60% of the headquarters' starting salary, ▲a monthly personal work support allowance of 150,000 KRW, and ▲the establishment of a dedicated organization for preventing and investigating workplace harassment.

However, the management proposed a salary increase rate of 5.6% to 7.5%, which fell short of the demands, leading to a breakdown in negotiations, and the five affiliates initiated industrial action on July 26.

After a dispute period lasting up to six months, the five affiliate corporations resumed negotiations sequentially from October, reached tentative agreements, and finalized the wage and collective agreements through ratification votes. Among them, Entech Service, which had the longest dispute period, reached a tentative agreement after the 19th negotiation on December 19 and passed the ratification vote on the 22nd.

The union accepted the management's wage proposal, and the management agreed to introduce new measures such as establishing or increasing a monthly 100,000 KRW work environment support allowance, adding a clause prohibiting workplace harassment, and forming a task force for win-win cooperation, allowing both labor and management to make concessions and reach an agreement.

The Naver branch stated, "Both labor and management were able to reach an agreement by making concessions," and added, "During the dispute of the five affiliates, support from union members and colleagues across all affiliates continued, showing that although the corporations are different, the labor union is one."

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