In the third plenary meeting to decide next year’s minimum wage, labor and management showed differences in their positions regarding the expanded application of minimum wage for contracted workers, including delivery and courier drivers. The Minimum Wage Commission held its third plenary meeting at the Government Sejong Center on the 29th.
At the meeting, the labor sector argued that minimum wage should be applied to contracted workers such as special employment (special contract), platform workers, and freelancers. According to a survey by the labor sector, the hourly wages for delivery riders and designated drivers are 7,864 won and 6,979 won, respectively, falling short of this year’s minimum wage of 10,030 won.
Ryu Gi-seop, secretary-general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, said, "The scale of low-wage workers, including special contract, platform, and freelancers, is increasing every year, with the maximum number of those paying business income tax at the National Tax Service estimated at over 8.62 million, yet they are not even receiving the minimum level of legal protection," and added, "Countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Germany have already recognized them as workers and applied labor laws."
Lee Ji-sun, vice-chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, noted, "Platform work is no longer a side job or part-time work; it is their main job and their livelihood," adding, "Being dependent on platforms to provide labor has prevented them from being recognized as workers and has left them in the blind spots of the labor market for a long time."
In contrast, the management sector argued that this discussion falls outside the authority of the Minimum Wage Commission and is not appropriate. Ryu Gi-jeong, executive director of the Korea Enterprises Federation, stated, "The Minimum Wage Commission cannot uniformly determine the worker status of employees in specific occupations," adding that "it is not appropriate for the commission to judge the minimum wages of individual special contract and platform workers, and it is practically impossible."
He continued, "I hope that discussions regarding a rational minimum wage that can reflect the significant differences in the acceptability of minimum wage among industries, as specified in the request for deliberation from the Minister of Employment and Labor, can be conducted more in-depth than such discussions."
Meanwhile, it was decided at that day’s meeting to determine the minimum wage amount for the coming year based on ‘hourly wage as before, but to also specify the monthly converted amount (based on 209 hours of work per month).’