CU Delivery Worker's Death Prompts Negotiations, But Ministry's Stance Criticized

The tragic death of a delivery worker at a CU logistics center, which occurred just two days before BGF Logistics and the Cargo Workers' Union finally commenced negotiations, underscores the severe issues plaguing the convenience store industry's logistics sector. For too long, delivery drivers have endured grueling 13-14 hour workdays, 25-26 days a month, for meager take-home pay. The burden of replacement vehicle costs, sometimes reaching 500,000-600,000 won, even when sick, is an unacceptable exploitation.

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CU delivery workers (truck drivers) have been receiving ridiculously low net income despite working 13-14 hours a day, 25-26 days a month under harsh conditions.

This incident highlights the deeply entrenched, problematic multi-layered subcontracting system. The chain from BGF Retail to BGF Logistics, regional centers, subcontracting transporters, and finally the delivery workers, effectively shields the primary company from responsibility while shifting the burden onto the laborers. These workers, though receiving directives from BGF Retail and operational instructions from BGF Logistics, are contracted as 'labor providers' or 'special employment workers' under individual business owner status, making it easy for the main contractor to dismiss their negotiation demands.

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Even when they have to rest due to illness, they have to bear the cost of replacement vehicles, which amounts to 500,000 to 600,000 won.

It is deeply regrettable that the Ministry of Employment and Labor continues to maintain that this tragedy is not a matter of 'Yellow Envelope Law' negotiations and that the meeting between CU and the Cargo Workers' Union does not constitute a negotiation under the Trade Union Act. Their argument hinges on the Cargo Workers' Union not being a formally registered union and lacking a determination of employer status by the Labor Relations Commission. However, numerous court rulings have recognized the labor status of specially employed workers and affirmed the Cargo Workers' Union as a legitimate union.

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Since executives from the prime contractor BGF Retail are also attending this negotiation as observers, the company must not evade responsibility by saying 'we are not the employer' any longer and must take steps to improve the actual treatment and ensure the safety of the delivery workers.

The government's insistence on formalistic logic to dilute the main contractor's responsibility undermines the intent of the Yellow Envelope Law and judicial precedents. The Ministry must actively interpret the concept of 'effective employer status' for main contractors hidden within these complex subcontracting structures, in line with the Yellow Envelope Law's aim to strengthen their accountability. Furthermore, the Ministry needs to diligently pursue institutional improvements to protect vulnerable workers, such as those in special employment, who are not recognized as employees under the Labor Standards Act, and to guarantee their right to negotiate.

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The fundamental cause of this situation lies in the chronic multi-layered subcontracting structure of the convenience store industry.