The labor ministry on Thursday issued new guidelines for labor negotiations, outlining demands for bonuses tied to a fixed percentage of a company's profit cannot be a mandatory subject of collective bargaining. The ministry's new guidelines are designed to clarify the revised trade union law that went into effect in March and expands subcontracted workers' bargaining rights, while increasing the accountability of prime contractors. While the revision expanded the scope of labor-management issues eligible for legal negotiations, it also caused ambiguity over the extent of negotiations legally allowed between the two parties. The guidelines address key labor issues that have recently rocked the country, including performance bonus demands from Samsung Electronics' labor union and plans to build a new semiconductor complex in the country's southwest. Under the guidelines, demands for performance bonuses fixed to a certain percentage of a company's profit can be a voluntary subject of bargaining but do not fall under mandatory subjects of negotiation. While the trade union law allows collect