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Korea – Court rules in favour of contract workers demanding employment status

19 September 2014

The Seoul Central District Court has ruled in favour of nearly 1,000 contracted workers at Hyundai Motor’s assembly lines, who filed a lawsuit demanding that they become regular employees, reports Maeli Business Newspaper.

The Seoul Central District Court partially upheld the claim of the contracted workers who filed the case against Hyundai Motor. The court noted, however, that: “Among plaintiffs who argue for the regular worker status, 40 were already newly hired, so the court will drop their demand while accepting others.”

At the centre of the ruling is the determination of whether or not Hyundai Motor is responsible for the direct control and supervision of the contracted workers.

The claimants argued: “We signed employment contracts with a dispatch agency but Hyundai had work orders and supervision, constituting a de facto dispatched contract.” ‘Dispatch agency’ is the term used in many parts of Asia to refer to a staffing agency.

Hyundai, however, countered that they just outsourced internal projects, and are therefore not responsible for the direct supervision of outsourced workers.

The ruling, if sealed by the Supreme Court, would force the car manufacturer to change the employment status of the workers. It could also have far-reaching implications for companies and contract workers across Korea.