POSCO SUBCONTRACTORS WIN LABOR SUIT

[Anchor Lead]

Subcontracted workers at POSCO have won a court battle 11 years after they filed a lawsuit over what they claimed was an illegal dispatch of workers. The Supreme Court said the steelmaker should hire them directly as they worked no differently from regular employees. The ruling is expected to affect the status of POSCO's entire 18-thousand subcontracted workforce.

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Under law, for employees of a company to give instructions to workers of a subcontractor, the firm needs to hire them directly. Otherwise, it will constitute an "illegal dispatch." This is the reason why subcontract workers at POSCO's Pohang and Gwangyang steel plants filed a lawsuit. Following an 11 year long battle, 59 plaintiffs received a top court verdict they hoped for, a final ruling recognizing their employment was indeed an illegal dispatch. There were ups and downs to reach this conclusion, with the sentencing once delayed from late last year. The Supreme Court said POSCO's directive conveyed to subcontract workers through its computer system can be viewed as job instructions. It can be seen as POSCO deciding the volume of work and number of personnel needed for crane operations. The court believed subcontract workers worked no differently than regular employees of the firm. And asked the steel giant to directly hire those who filed the suit. A similar ruling may be delivered in another litigation involving a different group of some 700 subcontract workers. The latest court decision may impact the status of POSCO's entire subcontract workforce.

[Soundbite] Choi Moon-soo, Lee Gi-yeon(Subcontract workers at POSCO) : "Following the ruling, all of the 18,000 workers like us at POSCO should be converted to regular employees."

The court rejected the suits by four plaintiffs who had passed their retirement age while the court journey was in progress.

[Soundbite] Jeong Gi-ho(Korean Confederation of Trade Unions law firm) : "The court is partially responsible for the prolonged litigation which led to the unfortunate incident of some workers reaching retirement age."

POSCO said it respects the ruling and will implement follow-up measures. However the Korea Enterprises Federation criticized the verdict saying it does not consider the special nature of subcontracting and characteristics of the line of work.