Unionized members at Naver demand company engage in centralized bargaining

SEOUL, August 20 (Yonhap) -- Unionized personnel from Naver Corp., the largest portal operator in South Korea, urged the company on Thursday to engage in consolidated bargaining that includes its subsidiaries. Approximately 300 employees expressed this demand during a meeting at the lobby of Naver's second office building in Gyeonggi Province, located south of Seoul.

The employees accused Naver of evading direct responsibility as the parent company by implementing separate, decentralized negotiations with its subsidiaries rather than participating in overall bargaining.

In the past year, 16 subsidiaries held a total of 150 negotiations, which spanned around 1,000 hours. However, none of the management from the subsidiaries were able to reach a decision before the headquarters finalized an agreement, according to the union. They demanded an end to this system, citing the waste of resources and discrimination against subsidiaries as the main issues.

Reflecting their position, unionized employees sent an official letter to Naver's headquarters at 2 p.m., requesting the signing of a collective bargaining agreement across all 16 subsidiaries. The letter included demands for the parent company to enhance its integrated management process, improve employee welfare, and establish a centralized labor-management relationship.