KCTU Calls for Minimum Wage Rise

A progressive union umbrella group called on the government Thursday to raise the minimum hourly wage, arguing that workers earning this were already fighting financial difficulties.

In a press conference, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said that "families in the working poor class make around 1.3 million won a month, but spend 1.6 million won, putting their households in chronic debt."

As part of research into the problem, the union group looked at the bank account books of 14 families for December last year and January, and found they had to borrow an average of 300,000 won from others to make ends meet. Those surveyed, who were aged between 49 and 73 years old, mostly had jobs cleaning at various facilities.

They were paid an average of 1.29 million won a month. However, their monthly expenditure marked 1.63 million won, mostly spent on food and health care. Moreover, many of them had the additional responsibility of supporting parents or grandchildren.

Lee Jung-ho, who led the survey, labeled them the "working poor" ㅡ those for whom it is exceedingly difficult to escape poverty no matter how much they work. "Four of those surveyed were from multiple income households, with their spouses or children making money, too. But even their occupations were too low to make a significant contribution," he said.

The workers rarely had opportunities to experience cultural events. Apart from buying newspapers or getting involved in religious activities, they hardly spent any money during their free time. "This could contribute to people of different income brackets growing apart," Lee said. "This could be a big problem in the long run."

The KCTU asked the Ministry of Labor to raise the minimum wage of low income workers. "Currently, the government considers the needs of a 29-year-old from a single-member family when deciding the minimum wage. However, most of those in need of the money are heavily burdened with looking after multiple family members," Lee said.

The Minimum Wage Council, which consists of representatives from the labor ministry, unions and corporation managements, set the minimum wage at 4,110 won per hour this year. The umbrella unions are asking for it to be raised to 5,152 won for next year.