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Labor Relations
What is a Workplace Closure?
10/1/2025
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Author:system
A countermeasure used by the employer against the union's industrial action, whereby the employer temporarily refuses to accept the provision of labor by workers. It is an employer's industrial action under the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (Trade Union Act). Unlike workers' industrial actions, the employer's workplace closure is not recognized as an independent right; rather, it arises due to the workers' industrial action, which disrupts the balance of power between labor and management and places significant disadvantageous pressure on the employer. Therefore, it can be utilized as a countermeasure to alleviate such pressure and restore the balance of power between labor and management. Consequently, workplace closure can only be implemented after the union has initiated its industrial action. If the workplace closure is justified by its counteractive and defensive nature, the employer is not obligated to pay wages to workers who cannot provide services during the closure period, and it can request workers occupying the workplace to vacate. However, even in a justified workplace closure, blocking access to welfare facilities such as union offices and dormitories is illegal. ▶Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act Article 46 [Requirements for Workplace Closure] ①The employer may implement a workplace closure only after the trade union has initiated industrial action. ②When implementing a workplace closure under paragraph 1, the employer must report it in advance to the administrative agency and the labor committee, respectively. ▶[Related Precedent](Supreme Court Ruling 98Da34331, pronounced on May 26, 2000): A workplace closure abruptly carried out after only three days of legal struggle without attempting wage negotiations with the union cannot be seen as an unavoidable, passive, and defensive measure initiated to protect the company from a situation where the balance of power between labor and management is disrupted by the workers' industrial action, placing significant disadvantageous pressure on the employer. Therefore, the company's workplace closure lacks legitimacy, and the company is obligated to pay wages for the duration of the closure.
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