About the Labor Union Act

What is the Labor Union Act?

In laws which define about labor, the words “worker” and “employer” often appear in the context. The Labor Union Act defines “worker” as the people who actually engage in labor, and defines “employer” as the people who receive benefits from labor and offer wages in return. This relationship between “worker” and “employer” is called "labor-management relations". This law define about "labor-management relations" in detail.

Purpose of the Labor Union Act

As described in Article 1, the purpose of the collective bargaining is to: (1) promote equal footing between workers and employers; (2) defend the voluntary establishment and association of labor unions; and (3) promote collective bargaining and procedures for the conclusion of collective agreements that regulate relations between employers and workers.

Problems of the Labor Union Act

There is a case in which the definition of “worker” became an issue in this law and developed into a court case. In the case of the New National Theatre Managing Foundation, Mr.A, who had been already contracted as a member of the orchestra, was declared to fail the following year. The employer did not agree to collective bargaining and that became a problem. Whether Mr.A can be admitted as a worker or not became a point at issue in the trial. As a result he was recognized as a worker. But because of this trial, the definition of the word has become difficult.