Divide and Conquer
It has been reported that Daishin Securities has paid incentives to only one of the labor unions in the company. Regarding this issue, the Daishin Securities Branch of the Korean Finance & Service Workers’ Union held a press conference on Dec. 10 to call for the management to actually comply with labor laws.
According to the branch, the company has retired 302 employees with a labor attorney's office. In response, the workers set up a labor union in January this year and have had 18 rounds of collective bargaining since March. But neither side has reached any agreements at all.
“The management recently established a company union and paid 3 million won [US$2,732] only to the 30 members who are engaged in collective bargaining with it,” they said. They further pointed out, “If you look at the details, you will find the agreement is filled with those favorable to the employers.” However, the management explained that the branch is not representative, it has no legal duty to provide offices and full-time positions for the branch members, and even the members of the existing union can be paid the same incentives upon agreement. “The negotiations with the newly-established labor union were provisionally wrapped up on Dec. 5, but the company is saying the incentive is available for those who join it until Dec. 17, which is a scheme to steal union members,” the branch refuted.
At present, Daishin Securities has two labor unions, one being the branch and the other being the Daishin Securities Labor Union. The latter was set up two days after the establishment of the branch on Jan. 27, and the former has labeled the latter as a company union.