S.Korean delivery workers say coronavirus boom means relentless toil

Hanjin Logistics

24/11/2020 01:00

By Ju-min Park
    SEOUL, Nov 24 (Reuters) - South Korea's delivery workers
have fallen into what they call a "legal blind spot" and say
it's a deadly place to be as the novel coronavirus drives an
unprecedented boom in online business.
    Labour rights have made huge progress in South Korea over
the past couple of decades but the couriers say they have seen
little benefit.
    "Work-life balance? That's another world," said Jeong
Sang-rok, 51, a contract worker who delivers parcels for Hanjin
Transportation  002320.KS , one of South Korea's two big
delivery companies.
    Parcel shipments increased some 12% a year in South Korea
from 2004 as online shipping grew, then surged 23% from February
to October this year, compared with the same period last year,
as the pandemic hit, according to government data.
    The big delivery firms are enjoying strong profits. CJ
Logistics  000120.KS  reported a 21% rise in first-half
operating profit and Hanjin Transportation posted a 35%
increase. Those companies represent about a 64% of the delivery
market.
    Most of South Korea's 54,000 delivery workers are hired
under subcontracts that deny them the safeguards and benefits
regular employees get.
    Workers and union officials say legal loopholes leave them
exposed to pressure to put in unsustainable hours -  conditions,
they say, that have contributed to deaths.
    Labour activists say they have compiled accounts from
relatives of 14 people whose deaths this year they attributed to
a system that means workers have to put in unreasonably long
hours to make ends meet.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2HD24W
    One of those who died was Kim Won-jong who developed
breathing difficulties at work. His father blamed the relentless
demands of his job.
    "He was running around, running around for 14 hours without
time to eat," the father, Kim Sam-young, said at a labour rally
in October as he held a portrait of his son.
    Another delivery worker, Seo Hyung-wook, suffered chest
pains and breathing problems at work and died later of heart
failure, his sister said. She too blamed the pressure of work.
    One worker committed suicide after leaving a note about the
hardships at work, a trade union said.
    "Fifteen people already died, which is ironic, because we
aren't working to die but to live," said Jeong.
    Full-time workers in Asia's fourth largest economy have a
cap on weekly work hours, representation by powerful unions and
holidays, under improvements over the past decade.
    But delivery people and others working under subcontracts
are regarded as self-employed and do not get the minimum hourly
wage, nor overtime, and most have no insurance for on-the-job
injuries. 
    There are some 2.2 million such workers, equivalent to 8% of
the workforce, according to government data.
    South Korean logistics firms don't hire delivery workers but
outsource hiring to agents.
    Yoon Sung-goo, a courier-turned-agent for CJ Logistics, told
Reuters the system helped companies keep down costs.
    Yoon said in recent years the companies had begun investing
in equipment like sorting machines though he acknowledged
working hours for couriers were still long.  
       
    'FRIENDS WITH BUSINESS'
    Jeong start his day at 7 a.m. with a five-hour stint at a
conveyor belt sorting about 250 packages to deliver that day. He
is not paid for the sorting.
    Then, usually not taking a lunch break to save time, he
drives a truck he pays for until he finishes at about 9 p.m. The
father of three takes home about $2,200, about average for South
Korea's couriers, according to a recent survey.
    But couriers put in some 71.3 hours a week to earn it -
which works out at less than the minimum wage on an hourly basis
- and is about 10 hours longer than what's defined as
"overwork", according to the September survey by the Center for
Workers' Health and Safety rights group.
    Labour officials and activists say competition between the
courier companies means the fees they're willing to pay, now
about 800 won ($0.72) per package, are also being squeezed.
    Following a public outcry over the recent deaths, the big
logistics firms apologised for causing public concern and
offered condolences to families of those who died. They also
promised to ease the workload.
    A spokesman for Hanjin said it would introduce annual
check-ups for couriers and extra sorting staff from this month.
    CJ announced a similar plan for health checks and more
workers, a spokesman said.
    A labour law expert said governments looking out for the
interests of business allies had long done little to help
contract workers.
    "They want to be friends with the corporations and don't
want to burden them," said Yun Ae-lim at the Seoul National
University.
    Labour Minister Lee Jae-kap said this month delivery workers
were paying the price for the explosive growth of the business
and he promised help.
    "Policy, infrastructure and technology hasn't kept up with
the pace of growth of the delivery industry and the burden has
manifested in long hours and heavy workloads," Lee told a news
conference.
    Worker Kim Sang-yong said he was not holding out much hope
at a time of record unemployment.
    "No one can just quit in the middle of this job crisis,"
said Kim, who delivers for Hanjin.
    "It's a tough job but we just have to put up with it."

 (Reporting by Ju-min Park
Editing by Jack Kim, Robert Birsel)
 ((ju-min.park@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
ju-min.park.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))