requests

April 10 (Asia Today) — More than 1,000 subcontractor unions have requested collective bargaining with primary contractors in the first month since South Korea’s revised labor law took effect, though relatively few negotiations have begun.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 1,011 subcontractor unions representing 145,860 workers filed bargaining requests with 372 primary companies as of Wednesday.

In the private sector, 616 unions sought talks with 216 companies, while 395 unions in the public sector filed requests with 156 organizations.

Despite the surge in requests, only 33 companies – about 8.9% – have formally announced the start of negotiations, and just 19 completed the process confirming bargaining parties. Handong Global University is the only case so far where formal talks have begun, holding an initial meeting with a subcontractor union Wednesday.

Officials said the process remains in an early stage, as companies and unions work through procedures such as determining employer status and separating bargaining units.

A total of 170 complaints were filed with the labor commission over companies failing to publicly acknowledge bargaining requests. Of those, 110 were withdrawn and 54 remain under review. In six completed cases, authorities recognized the primary contractor as the employer.

Applications to divide bargaining units have also increased, with 117 filed so far. Thirteen were approved and six rejected. Cases involving Korea Electric Power Corp. and major bank call centers were approved by job function, while other cases were split by union affiliation.

The ministry said the rulings show bargaining structures are not being fragmented indefinitely, countering concerns from businesses.

The government described the current phase as part of establishing a new bargaining framework between contractors and subcontractors.

However, business groups warned the law could increase the burden of negotiating with multiple unions and potentially extend into management decisions. Labor groups, meanwhile, criticized delays by companies in initiating the process.

Even within labor circles, there has been a cautious approach as both sides monitor early rulings and precedents.

Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said the revised law is intended to institutionalize dialogue between contractors and subcontractors.

“Legal procedures such as bargaining requests and unit separation are part of building a stable framework for dialogue,” he said, adding that the government will continue to support the law’s implementation.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260410010003225

April 3 (UPI) — The Trump Administration has requested $152 million in its fiscal year 2027 federal budget proposal to refurbish and reopen Alcatraz as a prison.

President Donald Trump first broached the idea of reopening the prison on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay in May 2025, but with the administration’s release of its budget proposal to Congress he is looking to put his plan in motion.

Alcatraz was closed in 1963 after 30 years as an active prison that has become famous for its former inmates and stories of attempted escapes, but has long been a popular tourist attraction that sees more than one million people per year visit the island, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

In the budget proposal, the administration argued that restoring Alcatraz is an appropriate response to the federal Bureau of Prisons housing “violent criminals in crumbling detention centers.”

“The Budget affirms the President’s commitment to rebuild Alcatraz as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility, providing $152 million to cover the first year of project costs,” the budget proposal said.

The request is part of the administration’s $5 billion request for the BOP, and its larger intent is to improve working conditions and pay to stem shortages of correctional officers.

While the $152 million is projected to over the first year of refurbishing the prison, there are no details of the project or longer-term details included in the proposal.

In 2025, however, when Trump said he’d directed his administration to start looking into reopening Alcatraz as a prison, his administration suggested that the multi-year project to make it usable could cost around $2 billion.

The prison originally was closed because it was so expensive to run — every supply needed for the facility has to be brought there by boat because it is in the middle of the San Francisco Bay — and had at least 36 inmates attempt a total of 14 separate escapes in its 30 years as a prison.

“Alcatraz is a historic museum that belongs to the public, and San Franciscans will not stand for Washington turning one of our most iconic landmarks into a political prop,” U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told The Los Angeles Times.

April 3 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has requested that Congress increase the Pentagon’s budget by $1.5 trillion for fiscal year 2027 on Friday.

The additional funding the president is asking for is a 40% increase over the current budget. At the same time he is requesting a 10% decrease in all non-defense spending, cutting about $73 billion from domestic programs.

Some of the programs that Trump is proposing to reduce funding to include environmental, renewable energy, transportation and infrastructure programs. About $1.6 billion would be eliminated from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research programs.

The budget request is being led by White House Budget Director Russell Vought, the author of Project 2025.

“The 2027 budget builds on the president’s vision by continuing to constrain non-defense spending and reform the federal government,” Vought wrote in a message to Congress. “A historic paradigm shift in the budget process is occurring and is producing real results for the American public. Fiscal futility is ending. Together, we will achieve significant budgetary savings for the American people while implementing the president’s bold vision.”

The request comes on the heels of Trump’s speech on Wednesday, in which he said the United States cannot “take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all of these individual things.” Instead, the United States must focus on war.

“Don’t send any money for day care, because the United States can’t take care of day care,” Trump said Wednesday. “We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care.”

Fiscal year 2027 begins in October.

The White House published a top-line fact sheet summarizing the request for more defense spending on Friday, along with additional documents highlighting the president’s spending goals. It outlines Trump’s wish to “reinvigorate” the military.

Trump is calling on Republicans in Congress to approve $350 billion in additional funds through reconciliation for obtaining munitions and expanding the defense industry.

By taking $350 billion in additional funding through the budget reconciliation process, Republicans could avoid the Senate filibuster and the need to negotiate with Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Trump is also requesting $40.8 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Justice, a $4.7 billion increase over its current budget. The White House says this is to continue the Trump administration’s efforts to “stop the migrant crime epidemic.”

Another $1.47 billion is being requested for the Department of Defense to add resources to the southern border, including sensors and surveillance technology.