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1 September, 2025Korean trade unions recognized the passage of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (TULRAA) as a meaningful step in the right direction, while urging the government on 29 August to pursue deeper labour law reforms.
On 24 August, the Korean National Assembly approved the amendment with a majority support from the ruling Democratic Party. The revision grants subcontracted workers’ the right to bargain collectively with the principal employer and restricts employers’ claim of loss of business due to strike activities.
IndustriALL Global Union affiliates Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU) and Federation of Metalworkers’ Trade Unions (FKMTU) said the historic labour law amendment is a positive step after a decade of struggle. However, the unions call on the government to continue reforming anti-union provisions in the TULRAA.
FKMTU welcomes the amendment as it directly addresses the contradictions of the subcontracting structure that is deeply entrenched in the metal industries, such as automobiles and steel. From now on, the real employers of subcontracted workers can no longer evade responsibility.
FKMTU president Kim Jun Young said :
“This amendment is not a victory that was easily handed to us. It is a historic achievement born from the cries and struggles of countless metalworkers who could not properly raise their voices on the conveyor belts, in front of the blazing furnaces and in dangerous subcontracted workplaces. FKMTU also fought together with subcontracted workers, on the roads and on the top of steel towers. Such desperate struggles became the catalyst that showed the world the just cause of amending the law.”
Meanwhile, KMWU issued a press statement criticizing the amendment for failing to expand the definition of worker, clarify principal employers’ responsibility for subcontracted workers and prohibit personal damage claims against individual unionists.
KMWU also questioned the six-month grace period and stressed that rights deferred are rights denied and called on the government to implement the amendment immediately. KMWU demanded the state and employers to withdraw ongoing lawsuits and employer-foisted damage claim suits against workers supporting subcontracted workers’ strike.
Furthermore, the union urges the new government to abolish anti-union policies created by the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration. For instance, the authority may supervise trade union finances without any allegations or requests, force trade unions to publicize union cash reserves, set a legal cap on time-off for union activities and treat collective bargaining beyond that limit as an unfair labour practice.
KMWU president Jang Chang-year said:
“The amended law still does not meet international standards. This is merely the first step. KMWU will now begin bargaining and struggling directly with principal employers, together with precarious workers. Through this path, we will defend the rights of all workers and plant the seeds of democracy in the workplace.”