A whirlwind campaign for a 10,000 won minimum wage

Posted on : 2016-04-07 17:27 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Ahead of Apr. 13 general election, activists pushing for detailed plans to raise wage and assist business owners
The day before the Minimum Wage Council’s first meeting of the year
The day before the Minimum Wage Council’s first meeting of the year

Kim Eun-seo, a 24-year-old jobseeker, worked part-time jobs the whole time she was in university to earn money to cover her tuition and living expenses.

While she worked at a variety of places - including convenience stores, internet cafes, large retail outlets and coffee shops - the wage she received was always the same: minimum wage.

“When I started a new job, the boss would tell me what the minimum wage was that year,” Kim said. “Since there’s a standard, we can complain if we get less than that.”

For those with part-time jobs like Kim and for other low-wage workers, the minimum wage is an important factor with a major effect on their lifestyle.

On Apr. 7, South Korea’s Minimum Wage Council will be holding its first meeting this year and starting the process of determining next year’s minimum wage. The meeting comes amid heightened interest about an increase in the minimum wage, with opposition parties scrambling to pledge a minimum wage of 10,000 won (US$8.67) and even the ruling Saenuri Party coming around to agreeing about the need for a raise.

While labor activists are hurrying to put together a petition campaign for a 10,000 won minimum wage, there are quite a few hurdles to overcome during the negotiations, including fierce opposition from the business world and small business owners.

 members of labor groups hold a press conference in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Swuare calling for the minimum wage to be raised to 10
members of labor groups hold a press conference in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Swuare calling for the minimum wage to be raised to 10

The members of the Minimum Wage Council - who are recommended by labor, business and the government to represent the public interest - are supposed to review and decide upon the minimum wage plan for next year submitted by the Minister of Employment and Labor within 90 days, which this year will be June 28.

The Ministry has to announce the minimum wage by Aug. 5, which allows time for the plan to be reconsidered if labor or management object.

As a consequence, Apr. 7 marks the beginning of a three-month tug-of-war between labor, management and the government over the amount of the minimum wage increase.

The minimum wage this year is 6,030 won (US$5.20) an hour, which is 8.1% higher than the previous year.

“We will continue our fight to raise the minimum wage until the day that it serves not as a poverty wage that keeps people from dying but rather as a wage that guarantees a real, dignified life,” said civic group Minimum Wage Solidarity during a press conference in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square on Apr. 6.

A number of groups are represented by Minimum Wage Solidarity, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), the Part Time Workers Union, the Women’s Union and the Korea Alliance for the Progressive Movement.

The KCTU, the University Union and the National Student Parade are campaigning for the 10,000 won minimum wage and collecting signatures for a petition. The campaign began at Yonsei University on Apr. 5 and continued on Apr. 6 and 7 at 16 universities around the country, including Kyung Hee University, Korea University, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul National University, Korea Maritime and Ocean University and Cheongju University.

After collecting signatures on the street this month, the groups are planning to launch an online petition at the beginning of May.

But it remains unclear by what percentage the Minimum Wage Council will ultimately decide to increase the wage.

Last year, there were high hopes about a double-digit increase after Minister of Strategy and Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyoung-hwan said that “the minimum wage needs to be rapidly increased in order to raise household incomes,” but the wage increase proved to be much the same as previous years.

Labor activists wanted the wage to jump to 10,000 won, while the business side countered by demanding that it be frozen at 5,580. In the end, the board members representing the public interest offered compromise proposals ranging from 5,940 won (6.5%) to 6,120 won (9.7%), and the board ultimately settled on 6,030 won.

“If politicians are serious, they ought to promise a double-digit increase in the minimum wage every year,” said Lee Nam-shin, director of the Korean Contingent Workers’ Center, who has represented workers on the Minimum Wage Board both last year and this year. “Pledges that do not include detailed implementation plans are just election-oriented populism.”

But Bang Gi-hong, 53, who has been running a stationery shop in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, for the past 27 years, offered a different perspective.

“If you just raise the minimum wage without any preparation, a significant number of small business owners who are already in a tight position will have to go out of business,” Bang said.

“After raising the minimum wage to 10,000 won, the government needs to find some ways to help out small business owners. We need to have a strategy for using a higher minimum wage to turn our existing jobs into better jobs and to stimulate the domestic economy.”

By Jeong Eun-joo, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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