hankyoreh

An article in the July 24 edition of the Hankyoreh titled “They Told Us to Juggle Family and Work” depicts the frustrating current reality of jobs in the new voluntary part-time program. Women working part-time relate how, lured by the promise of being able to raise children and work at the same time, they beat the odds to get a job at a bank. But the reality of the job is vastly different from their expectations. They find it hard to take care of the housework because the job does not respect their working hours, and they suffer a variety of disadvantages, such as not being paid for overtime work. The situation is probably not much different in other workplaces. These reports demonstrate the validity of the concerns raised about the idea to expand part-time jobs.

The government announced its roadmap for 70% employment in June 2013, and since then it has pursued the creation of good-quality part-time jobs as one of its primary policy objectives. The point of the policy was to overhaul workplace practices in South Korea - resolving the problem of long working hours and introducing a more flexible working culture - in order to promote the idea of balancing work and family. The government drummed up the idea by relating success stories from other countries.

But now, one year later, it is a stretch to say that the government program is getting positive ratings. The biggest problem is that the new part-time jobs simply aren’t high-quality jobs. One worker said that her take-home pay for the month - after subtracting taxes and pension payments - was 920,000 won (US$892.84). While the amount of compensation is not the only question to be asked in assessing the quality of a job, a paycheck this size does not satisfy South Koreans’ general understanding of quality. It is no exaggeration to label these jobs as “cheap.” Why else would some people be complaining that they would prefer to work full-time and receive minimum wage?

The government should not keep pushing forward the part-time job program in its current state. As can be seen in the low rate of application for government aid, few companies like these jobs. Another reason for reevaluating the program is the fact that its scope of application is limited.

This is why the government needs to carry out a full review of the working conditions and payment for part-time jobs and use this as the basis for preparing countermeasures. Furthermore, it needs to make an effort to create good-quality full-time jobs. Increasing the employment rate is urgent, but the problem with part-time jobs is they only get the job half done.

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