“There is a saying that ‘equity aids the vigilant and not those who slumber on their rights.’ The labor union of MSD Korea will work together to defend the members’ rights to survive.”
So said Shim Sang-nam, leader of the trade union of MSD Korea, on Tuesday as she filed a request with the Seoul National Labor Relations Commission to cancel the management’s order on some employees to work for the new spinoff company Organon Korea.
The latest move is the first legal fight in Korea to secure workers’ right to choose where to work when a multinational pharmaceutical firm tries to transfer local employees to a spinoff unit.
On Nov. 10, MSD Korea announced the list of employees who have to work under Organon Korea. Immediately after receiving the notification, labor union members started to prepare for the legal action. As a proxy for 117 workers who were ordered to move to Organon, the trade union filed a request for relief on Tuesday.
More specifically, the trade union is requesting the labor commission to rule that the company’s personnel order was unfair and that the company withdraws the order immediately.
The applicants of the relief request have worked for MSD Korea for at least several years and some, up to 20 years, according to the trade union. Following the MSD U.S. headquarters’ decision early this year, MSD Korea announced the plan for the spinoff.
MSD Korea did not provide a chance for Korean employees to exercise the right to consent or refuse and notified workers individually to transfer to Organon Korea based on the management’s unilateral criteria, the labor group said.
Citing a 2013 precedent, the labor union argued that MSD Korea should have undergone a procedure to explain about the spinoff and ask for cooperation if the management failed to receive consent.
However, the company went through formal procedures several times only and failed to earn legitimacy to order employees to move to the new spinoff company, the group went on to say.
Despite the aggressive move of the labor union, MSD Korea is reportedly taking the last step to complete the spinoff.
On Tuesday, the company held a briefing on the launch of Organon Korea and announced additional appointments of executives. The company also notified the date of the completion of the interior design of the Seoul office of Organon Korea. In Busan, the company said it would have its base at the WeWork’s office.
When MSD Korea announced in August that Organon Korea would use a shared office in Gwanghwamun, some workers criticized the decision saying the company did not care for the growth of Organon Korea.
However, choosing a WeWork office in Busan rekindled such controversy.
“If the company had wanted to grow (Organon Korea) and invest more, it should have chosen a landmark building, not a shared office under a short-term contract,” the labor union said.
The trade union said it would not participate in any briefing about the spinoff. Industry officials are paying attention to whether MSD Korea could complete the spinoff by February as it had planned.