Paris Baguette, union agree on hiring solution

The labor union and management of Paris Baguette, Korea’s largest bakery chain, reached an agreement on Thursday to set up an affiliate to hire bakers, ending a months-long dispute over employment terms.

In September, the government said SPC Group, the franchise’s operator, violated the country’s labor laws in connection with the hiring conditions of more than 5,300 bakers and workers at its stores.

The bakery chain was accused of giving direct work orders, including training, to outsourced workers who technically have contracts with hiring-related contractors, a practice that the ministry deems illegal.

Paris Baguette said that under the agreement with the labor union, it will establish a subsidiary that will be at least 51 percent owned by the franchise’s headquarters. The bakery chain was originally pushing to hire the workers through a joint venture that it recently established with its franchisees and contractors.

The labor union has been opposed to such a move, saying they refuse to accept a plan that includes the contractors, who were at the center of the issue, as part of the joint venture. Following the latest deal, the contractors will be excluded from holding shares or joining the board of the affiliate.

YONHAP