The wage growth rate in workplaces with independent laborers was between 5.2 and 6.8 percent during a three-year period. Unionized workers under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions saw the rate of growth decrease from 4.5 to 3.9 percent while unionists affiliated to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions saw a rate growth of 4.5 to 4.7 percent. In the first half of this year, wage growth in workplaces with no unionized laborers was 2 percent. Wage growth for unionists under the FKTU, independent workers and members under KCTU were 0.9, 0.8 and 0.5 percent, respectively.
I should say I am not really shocked; from most of the talk I have heard from these independent unions have been mostly focused on increasing their economic standing. Of course such narrow focus creates a giant misconception on the purpose of unions. Korean workers do not just fight for high wages (though that is a common demand). Many disputes have came over the issue of layoffs, fringe benefits, seniority vs performance wages, working conditions, temporary/irregular workers and control of their workplace.
However, each Simpac worker received incentives worth 10 million won ($8,090) and company shares at the end of last year due to increased profits since unionists withdrew from the KCTU in January of last year. It was the first incentive in 10 years. Nam Ho-ki, 48, who has worked at the firm for 22 years, said workers once received nothing despite past profits. He said employees now believe there will be compensation if they work hard.
“While the company suffered from a deficit in the first half of this year due to the economic downturn, unionized workers first suggested a wage freeze,” said Choi Jin-shik, chairman of Simpac. “The firm will do its upmost to run the business successfully so that management can offer workers incentives by the end of this year.”
Some said that changing characteristics of labor-management relations in Simpac are largely influenced by its labor union’s withdrawal of membership from the KCTU. All the unionists voted in favor of the withdrawal.
It sounds like business is starting to co-opt these independent unions by giving them economic benefits in exchange for cooperation. This is what Japan has done which was a major success in derailing the once militant Japanese workforce. From a management perspective (as well as a union bureaucrat) this is a good thing. And I'm pretty sure the unionized workforce is pretty happy.
The question is this, is this good for workers overall? No. What often happens in these type of agreements is that the management will give high economic incentives to its unionized workforce that represents a small portion of their total workforce. Management then makes this up by treating its non-unionized parts like crap outsourcing much of the work overseas and begin relying on temporary/irregular workers domestically. This is what happened in Japan; you got a well off labor aristocracy (as Lenin would have put it) while most of the employees suffer. For women and minorities (who make the majority of both overseas workers and irregular workers) this is bad.
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