The federation of Korean companies asked the Ministry of Economy to relax a series of measures that mainly affect workers employed in shipbuilding. But experts say that these measures could force immigrants to convert their free hours into overtime and thus increase work accidents.
Seoul ( / Agencies) – The Korean Business Federation (KEF) has asked local authorities to reduce the minimum wage of migrant workers employed in the shipbuilding industry who hold E-7 visas. Holders of this permit are granted a basic salary equal to 80% of the previous year’s gross national product (GNP) per capita, so they can currently earn about 2.7 million won ($2,050) per month.
But earlier this year, to make foreign labor more accessible, the Ministry of Justice had approved a three-year temporary measure under which small and medium-sized businesses located outside the greater Seoul area will be able to pay employees with E-7 visa up to 70% of the previous year’s GNP per capita (about 2.5 million won per month). Employers argue that foreign workers can still earn more than Koreans if they work a lot of overtime.
Korea suffers from persistent labor shortages at the shipyards, which is why KEF, which sent the petition to the Ministry of Economy and the Government Policy Coordination Office on behalf of the subcontractors, urged the government to also allow the large manufacturers hire workers with E-9 visas. Indeed, these contracts are currently only authorized for companies with fewer than 300 employees and capital of less than 8 billion won. Lastly, the Korean businessmen urged the Executive to allow them to hire foreigners to also sort packages and maintain vehicles in transport companies, asking that the law that currently only authorizes immigrant workers to work in activities be amended. loading and unloading in logistics centers.
“For Korea to overcome its economic difficulties, the government must relax various regulations that have hampered business management,” Lim Young-tae, head of KEF’s employment policy section, told Korean Times.
However, the demands of industrial employers also caused concern that they could force foreigners to convert their rest hours into overtime. According to Kim Hyun-mee, a professor at Yonsei University’s Faculty of Anthropology, “the accumulation of fatigue could make immigrant workers more prone to the risk of occupational accidents.”
