LABOR CASES

Labor Union

Conclusion of a Collective Agreement for a Foreign Teachers’ Labor Union


I. Overview
Five foreign teachers working at a language institute in Yeonsoo-Gu, Inchon, established a labor union on November 19, 2009, and started collective bargaining. The labor union suggested 21 items to the employer for collective bargaining on December 21, 2009, but the employer intentionally wasted time, rejecting collective bargaining, without answering the labor union’s request. The employer’s intention was to delay as long as possible, knowing that the union members’ employment contracts would expire. However, due to repeated requests by the labor union, the employer unwillingly began collective bargaining on April 13 to 14, 2010. The employer agreed to accept the contents equivalent to the conditions of the employment contract, but firmly rejected four items related to improvement of working conditions. Furthermore, the employer declared that he would not participate in any further collective bargaining and did not respond to further requests to engage in collective bargaining. The labor union decided to engage the employer by taking collective action, and applied to the Incheon Regional Labor Commission for an adjustment of labor disputes as a procedure to obtain the right to strike.
The Mediation Committee in the Labor Commission persuaded the labor union and management to talk, extending the mediation period due to a serious situation arising because of the disagreement between the union and the employer, and drew up an adjusted collective agreement that both parties could agree to. Even though the labor union did not have all its demands fulfilled, it was able to finalize a collective agreement by acquiring some concrete working conditions regarding disciplinary procedure, longer vacation, and recognition of the labor union entity. Here, I would like to explain the processes of detailed collective bargaining and how the collective agreement was drawn up by the Mediation Committee of the Labor Commission.
II. Concluding a Collective Agreement through Mediation
1. Timeline to the conclusion of collective bargaining
- Nov 19, 2009: Labor union established
- Dec 21, 2009: Twenty one items for collective bargaining brought to the employer by the labor union
- Apr 13 ~ 14, 2010: Collective bargaining begun
(17 items were agreed upon, 4 unresolved).

- Apr 20, 2010: The employer declared the end of collective bargaining and refused to engage in any more.

2. Mediation by the Labor Commission, and the Resulting Collective Agreement
- Apr 28, 2010: The labor union applied to the Labor Commission for adjustment of labor disputes
- May 6, 2010. 10:00 ~ 12:00: The mediation hearing confirmed the existence of disputes.
Mediation begun between the labor union and management.
- May 13, 2010. 10:00 ~ 16:00 Resolution of labor disputes and conclusion of
a collective agreement

3. The 21 Items for Collective Bargaining

III. Major Disputed Items

1. Introduction of disciplinary procedures
(1) No disciplinary rules existed in the employment contract or the Rules Of Employment.
(2) Items Agreed Upon

Article 7 (Types of Disciplinary Action)
1.There are four types of disciplinary action:
written warning; salary reduction; suspension from work; and dismissal,
2. Details follow each article of the employment contract.

Article 8 (Disciplinary Hearings)
Union members must be informed of any disciplinary hearing in writing at least three working days in advance. These hearings will be conducted solely in English as far as possible.

Article 9 (Disciplinary Committee)
1. A Disciplinary Committee shall be composed of one chairman (the employer), two union members designated by the union chairman, and two persons designated by the employer.
2. A decision or vote will pass the Disciplinary Committee only if more than half of the Committee members attend the meeting and if at least half of the Committee members agree with the decision. However, if there is an equal vote on an issue, the chairman shall decide.
3. The chairman of the Disciplinary Committee will give Committee members at least 3-calendar days written notice in the event of a Disciplinary Hearing.


(3) Evaluation
Previous disciplinary actions were unfair because the employer had presided over disciplinary hearings in Korean for foreign teachers who did not understand Korean. However, this collective agreement 1) introduces disciplinary procedures, 2) provides the opportunity to submit testimony, and 3) composes the Disciplinary Action Committee of an equal number of members from the labor union and the employer, and 4) shall be held in the English language.

2. Use of annual leave

(1) Previous employment contract: “The employee is entitled to 10 days of paid leave for the entire year according to the rules and procedures of the company. Paid leave cannot be taken less than three months after the beginning of employment and no more than 5 days can be used at one time.

(2) Items agreed upon
1. Employees are allowed to take up to 6 consecutive days off as paid vacation (including off-days). In cases where an employee takes 7 to 9 days off as paid vacation (no more than 5 of these regular working days), the employee shall leave a 600,000 won deposit with the employer to ensure his/her return to work.

2. When an employee returns from vacation, the employer shall refund the deposit immediately. However, if the employee does not return to work by the designated returning day, the deposit will not be returned.


(3) Evaluation
The previous rules allowed employees to use up to 6 days including a weekend, but the revised rule was improved to allow up to 9 consecutive days. During mediation, the employer expressed his fear that employees would not return to work after visiting his/her home country if he/she took longer leave. The employer accepted the deposit method where the employee deposits a certain amount of money when taking more than 7 consecutive days off. Due to the distinct situation of foreign teachers, the union had to introduce this deposit system, but it was desired that this item be deleted in the next collective agreement once mutual trust has developed.

3. Provision of recess hours

(1) Request
Article 14 (Scheduling)
The Company shall not give teachers a schedule that requires them to work in a classroom with students for more than 170 consecutive minutes per day. If the Company wishes to give a teacher a schedule of more than 170 minutes of teaching, then the teacher must be given 30 minutes of office time after the initial 170 minutes.

(2) Reason for requesting recess hours and related collective bargaining
Foreign teachers were unable to have a dinner break one or two days a week when they had to teach 4 pm to 10 pm non-stop. The labor union requested recess to eat dinner. The employer was very strongly against providing recess, explaining that, if allowed, the employer would have to hire an additional foreign teacher and rearrange the schedules already announced. The association of regional institute owners also insisted that the employer never accept this demand.

(3) Evaluation: The labor union had to withdraw this demand in order to conclude the collective agreement. However, “an employer shall allow a recess period of 30 minutes for every 4 working hours during the working day” according to Article 54 of the Labor Standards Act, so this labor attorney, who supported the labor union, persuaded the labor union to withdraw this demand at this time, explaining that this dispute could be resolved separately through a claim to the Labor Office.

4. Request for an English translation of the Rules Of Employment

(1) Request

For further questions, please
call (+82) 2-539-0098 or email bongsoo@k-labor.com

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