Hyundai Cleared in Temp Worker Case

The prosecution determined that discriminating against temporary workers dispatched from staffing agencies does not constitute illegal dispatch work when a company does not directly manage or supervise the dispatched workers, although they actually do the same job with regular workers of the company.

On January 3, the Public Security Department of Ulsan District Public Prosecutors’ Office dropped charges of violations of the law on the protection of dispatched workers against a total of 128 people, including the head of Hyundai Motors and the head of 102 staffing agencies. It was a case filed by the labor union of temporary workers of Hyundai Motors and the Ulsan branch of the Busan Regional Labor Office.

The decision is unprecedented in that the Changwon District Public Prosecutors’ Office imposed a fine of three to seven million won each on the president of GM Daewoo and six staffing agencies on charges of illegal labor dispatches last December. The case was brought by the labor union of temporary workers at the Changwon factory of GM Daewoo.

The management welcomed the decision, saying it would open the way to effectively utilize labor force supplied by staffing agencies while avoiding attacks from the labor unions, whereas the labor defied the decision, saying it would perpetuate temporary labor service.

The temporary workers’ labor union of Hyundai Motors lodged a complaint to the Ulsan branch of the Busan Regional Labor Office against Hyundai Motors and staffing agencies in violation of the dispatch law that prohibits manufacturers from hiring dispatched workers for manufacturing jobs. The labor union argued that the company hired dispatched workers for assembling auto parts. However, the prosecution said, “The company did not violate the law in that Hyundai didn’t directly supervise the dispatched workers. It was staffing agencies that managed and controlled the workers on their own.”

According the prosecution, only when a company, not staffing agencies, directly supervises the dispatched laborers, does the company violate the law but this was not the case with Hyundai.

The prosecution said the workers were not subordinated to Hyundai Motors, citing the agreement between Hyundai and staffing agencies that clearly stated the dispatched workers’ job descriptions in detail, from parts assembly, to press, to transport, and the fact that staffing agencies directly gave tasks to the workers and maintained the authority of supervision.

The prosecution also cleared Hyundai Motors of a charge of temporary use of substitute workers on the grounds that the substitute workers were supervised by staffing agencies, too. In regard to the same case, the police recommended charges.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motors said, “It is not appropriate to express an opinion on the prosecution’s decision. The reason why there are more workers supplied by staffing agencies is that the regular workers’ union objected to rearrangement of job positions.”

The head of temporary workers’ union of Hyundai Motors, Shin Byung-doo, said, “The decision makes the dispatch law useless and it is an unfair decision in favor of management. We will appeal to the higher prosecutors’ office.”

The Ulsan branch of the Busan Regional Labor Office, which initially determined what Hyundai did constituted illegal conduct, announced, “We investigated the case following the guidelines of the Ministry of Labor and determined the case was illegal. But the final decision is made by the prosecution and we respect it.”

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