A controversy arose when Hanwha Techwin (former Samsung Techwin) made a payment to the court deposit funds amounting to 300 million won(US$262,000) which seemingly intended not to comply with the court decision to take necessary procedures to determine the bargaining representative trade union. The move by Hanwha Techwin was criticized as the deposit in court would mean Hanwha Techwin makes use of court deposits to avoid the bargaining with a local union of the Korean Metal Workers' Union(KMWU) which the company does not want to recognize.
The Samsung Techwin Union Local of the KMWU Gyeongnam Regional Chapter held a press briefing on February 6 in front of the Changwon Employment and Labor Office to call for a special labor inspection to Hanwha Techwin which does not stop its union busting activities by disregarding the decisions of the labor relations commission and court.
At Hanwha Techwin there exist two trade unions of which one is an enterprise-based union and the other is a union local of the industrial union. The National Labor Relations Commission in December last year made a decision in favor of a request for remedy which filed by the union local against the company in violation of unfair labor practice.
The Changwon Division of the Busan High Court on January 4 this year granted an injunction application to ban unfair labor practice filed by the union local against Hanwha Techwin to stop pressurizing the employees to withdraw their industrial union membership.
The Changwon District Court on January 11 endorsed an injunction request filed by the union local against Hanwha Techwin to comply with the legal provision of public notice of trade union's demand for bargaining. The court ordered Hanwha Techwin to conduct the procedures to determine the bargaining representative union or otherwise to pay 2 million won(US$1,750) a day to the union local.
Hanwha Techwin has chosen the payment to the union local, instead of bargaining. After having paid the union local 10 million won(US$7,000) for 5 days, Hanwha Techwin made deposits in court amounting to 300 million won(US$262,000) allegedly to avoid the direct payment to the union local.
reported by Je Jeong-nam
translated by Kim Sung-jin