단체협약에 의한 근로조건 불이익변경의 한계

Abstract

With the advent of world-wide economic crises, labor-law issues on the disadvantageous alternation of employment conditions have emerged as a matter of primary concern. This paper researches into the legal limits of unfavorable changes to employee's employment conditions by alteration of collective agreement. Labor Union's decisional authority in collective bargaining is not unlimited. Depending on the character and content of the particular bargaining subjects: (1)some matters require special authorization by a general meeting of the union and a vote of the members; (2)where such group authorization is insufficient, some matters require individual authorization from individual workers; (3)even though the union has obtained the above group or individual authorization, this may be insufficient with respect to other matters. In short, there may be certain special matters about which decisional authority does not reside in unions. Matters requiring group authorization(No. 1 above) are believed to include substantial wage reductions and lengthening of working hours in order to rebuild a company, personal adjustment policies to reduce a work force, and the like; i.e., measures concerning working conditions and employment which have a drastic effect upon the group and are taken in response to unusual circumstances. The matters requiring individual authorization(No. 2 above) include those in which the rights of individual workers are disposed of by, for example, abandoning existing wage claims and agreeing to the end the employment of specified union members. Finally, an example of unauthorized matters(No. 3 above), would be one dealing with the thoughts and beliefs of union members.