"Do you want us to really give up our meal costs?” – We oppose to the retrogressive revision of the minimum wage law!: denouncing press conference by the women labor circle

<"Do you want us to really give up our meal costs?” – We oppose to the retrogressive revision of the minimum wage law!: denouncing press conference by the women labor circle>

The Korean women workers’ circle had a press conference denouncing the retrogressive suggestion on the minimum wage law made by the Grand National Party. 

 

<Opposed to the retrogressive minimum wage law!: denouncing press conference by the women labor circle; “Do you want us to really give up our meal costs?” >

1. Date and venue: December 3, 2008, at 11am/ in front of the Grand National Party building

2. Organized by the KWWA, KWTU, Korean Womenlink, and KWAU

 

On November 18, 2008, Kim Seong-jo (and other 30 national assembly members) belonging to the Grand National Party suggested the retrogressive revision of the minimum wage law. The major suggests are as follows:

▶ Deducting meal costs and accommodation fees from wages;

▶ Extending the probation period from 3 months to 6 months;

▶ Applying reduced minimum wage to the elderly at their ages of more than 60;

▶ Introducing different minimum wage systems by region;

▶ Making decisions by members of public interests belonging to the Labor Relations Commission when the suggested minimum wage is not decided by deadline.

 

The minimum wage is the only legal shield to help low wage workers especially irregular women workers to maintain their minimum cost of living, and also an essential legal mechanism to end serious socio-economic polarization and to protect vulnerable classes amidst the current economic crisis.

 

70% of women workers are irregular workers receiving low wages and having job insecurity; women accounted for 64.4% out of the 1,890,000 persons (11.9%) receiving less than the minimum wage.

 

The proposed retrogressive revision of the minimum wage law is the attempt to blow off a little light of hope that women workers can have better life when they work hard.

 

With outsourced cleaners whose wages can be raised only when the minimum wage is rising, the Korean women workers’ circle gathered together to denounce the suggested retrogressive revision of the minimum wage law in one voice:

 

Presently the minimum wage is 3,770 won an hour and monthly 787,930 won. This accounts for 39.8% of workers’ average wages, and is also so small amount of money that they can sink under the burden of sky-rocketing commodity prices and taxes.

 

Under this situation, the suggested revision is retrogressive in order to support the demands made only by economic groups.

 

The retrogressive revision attempted by the Grand National Party should be withdrawn, which does not protect even the minimum wage and attempts to take away the fruit of efforts from workers. In addition, the minimum wage should be upgraded to 50% of average wages of the total workers in order to intend to protect the livelihood of low income workers. Furthermore, strict law enforcement should be needed to make the minimum wage a reality.

 

The suggested revision has detailed problems as follows:

▶ The introduction of different minimum wage by region will bring about the serious rat races of the decreasing minimum wage amongst local governments and authorities, so as to induce investment into their regions, which causes real decreases in the minimum wage. Additionally, it will reinforce regional gaps and the uneven development between the Seoul metropolitan area and other regions and block strong ties and friendship amongst workers.

▶ The proposed extension of the probation period from 3 months and to 6 months will deteriorate working conditions of the young employed who constitute the most of trainees.  The suggested extension has the possibility to make the Labor Standard Law worse, because the probation period under the Minimum Wage Act can change that of the current Labor Standard Law in order that users can exhaust and fire workers.

▶ The suggested article regarding the application of decreasing minimum wages to the elderly workers at their age of more than 60, is discrimination by age, which will generate only low income workers. Social vulnerable classes should be protected and a variety of supports and benefits for them should be increased and consolidated.

▶ The deduction of meal costs and accommodation fees from wages will cause real decreases in the minimum wage.  This will distort the goals of the minimum wage act: the protection of minimum cost of living and stable livelihood. It will also help users to shift their responsibility to low income workers.  

▶The clause regarding making a decision by members of public interests belonging to the Labor Relations Commission in case in which the minimum wage cannot be decided by the deadline, illustrates giving up the legitimacy of the revision because the law should be discussed and decided by the tripartite structure between workers, users and members of public interests (the government), in fact.  Laws influential to the labor market and with different views about between the capital and the labor, like the minimum wage law, should not be amended unilaterally without any social discussion.