Cargo Union Recognized as Negotiation Partner in CJ Logistics, Hanjin Cases

On the 27th, the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission accepted the appeals filed by CJ Logistics and Hanjin against the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union's notice to confirm negotiation parties, ruling that the Cargo Union must also be recognized as a negotiation subject. This decision affirms the right of special employment workers to form labor unions.

Previously, on the 17th of last month, CJ Logistics and Hanjin explicitly excluded the Cargo Union when announcing their negotiation demands. The Cargo Union filed an appeal against this notice, having received authorization to do so from its parent organization, the Public Service and Transport Workers' Union.

The Cargo Union Headquarters welcomed the ruling by the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission, issuing a statement expressing its satisfaction. In its statement, the union declared, "This resolves the controversy over claims that the Cargo Union is an illegal union outside the law," and issued a warning to companies that spread such claims and evade negotiations.

The Cargo Union pointed out that CJ Logistics and Hanjin Logistics had evaded negotiations by asserting, using similar logic to BGF Logistics and BGF Retail, that the Cargo Union Headquarters was an unregistered, illegal union. The Cargo Union countered by citing accumulated precedents that have recognized the Cargo Union as a legitimate labor union with worker status under the Labor Union Act, operating as an industry division under the Public Service and Transport Workers' Union.

The Cargo Union urged BGF to cease its attempts to evade negotiations by claiming the union is illegal and to engage in negotiations with a responsible attitude.