A plan pushed by Naver’s labor union for integrated bargaining across affiliates has hit a snag. The Gyeonggi Labor Relations Commission dismissed the union’s request to order Naver headquarters to post notice of the bargaining demand. The union plans to seek a review by the National Labor Relations Commission.

Industry sources said on Thursday that the Gyeonggi labor panel on Oct. 22 dismissed a corrective request by the Naver branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ Chemical, Food and Allied Workers Union, known as “Joint Statement,” seeking a posted notice of its integrated bargaining demand.

The dispute stems from how far to recognize Naver headquarters’ authority over working conditions at affiliates. The union argues that because headquarters exerts substantial influence over key working conditions at affiliates, it should also directly take part in bargaining. Naver, on the other hand, views its affiliates as independently run and says headquarters has no obligation to be a bargaining party.

The union is pushing for integrated bargaining to change the bargaining structure divided by affiliate. It plans to discuss with headquarters matters common across units where headquarters has influence, such as HR policy and work systems, and to bargain with each corporation on issues specific to individual affiliates.

To that end, the union demanded integrated bargaining covering 15 affiliate corporations on three occasions starting on Aug. 20. But Naver did not post notice of the bargaining demand, and the union filed a corrective request with the Gyeonggi labor panel on Oct. 2.

Enforcement rules of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act stipulate that an employer must post notice for seven days when it receives a lawful bargaining demand. The issue became whether Naver headquarters qualifies as an employer that substantially and specifically controls and determines working conditions at affiliates, in order to determine whether it has an obligation to post the union’s demand.

The Gyeonggi labor panel dismissed the corrective request. As a result, it did not issue a decision ordering Naver to post notice of the bargaining demand. A written ruling laying out the specific grounds has not yet been made public.

The union decided to challenge the decision and file for a review with the National Labor Relations Commission. It plans to examine the reasons for the dismissal and proceed with the review process once the written ruling is served.

Earlier, on Oct. 21, the union held a rally at Naver’s headquarters building 1784 in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, attended by about 200 members by the union’s count, and urged Naver to accept integrated bargaining.

Even after the dismissal, the union’s push for a review means differences between labor and management over headquarters’ decision-making authority and bargaining responsibility for affiliate working conditions are likely to continue for the time being.