Labor Relations Commission Denies 'Employer Status' of Hwaseong City... First Determination of Principal Employer Status for Local Governments

The Labor Relations Commission did not recognize the 'employer status' of Hwaseong City regarding the living sports instructors affiliated with the Hwaseong City Sports Council. As judgments continue to be made about the scope of local governments as employers following the implementation of the revised Trade Union Act, this decision reconfirms the standard that, if a local government is merely the agent executing the budget, it is difficult to consider it as an employer.

The Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission announced on the 14th that it had dismissed the "application for correction regarding the announcement of facts about the objection to the confirmation notice of the union requesting collective bargaining" filed by the Public Solidarity Union, a member union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), against Hwaseong City, determining that the employer status of the local government, Hwaseong City, was not recognized.

On the first day of enforcement of the 'Yellow Envelope Act' (Amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act) on the 10th, members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions who finished the rally at the declaration meeting held in Sejong-ro, Seoul, are marching. Yonhap News

Earlier, the Public Solidarity Union argued that Hwaseong City was in a position to substantially control and determine the employment conditions, such as the hiring and allowances of the living sports instructors affiliated with the Hwaseong City Sports Council, and thus constitutes a "non-contractual employer" under the revised Trade Union Act. The union claimed that excluding these workers from the confirmation notice of the bargaining union for the subcontractor union was unfair and applied for correction to the Gyeonggi Labor Relations Commission on the 24th of last month.

However, the Gyeonggi Labor Relations Commission determined that Hwaseong City merely acts as the agent executing the budget allocated under laws and municipal ordinances, and it is difficult to see the city as directly determining or exercising final decision-making authority over the working conditions, such as allowances, of the living sports instructors.

The adjudication committee concluded that, given these circumstances, it is difficult to recognize Hwaseong City as a "specific and substantive employer" under the Trade Union Act. Accordingly, the committee found no grounds for the Public Solidarity Union’s application for correction and dismissed it.

This decision marks the second time that the Labor Relations Commission has denied the principal employer status of a client company in relation to a subcontractor union.

On the 10th, the Jeonnam Regional Labor Relations Commission also dismissed the application for announcement of facts regarding the request for collective bargaining filed by the Korea Tower Crane Operators’ Union, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), against Jungheung Construction and Jungheung Construction Co., Ltd.

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