Submitted2024.05.13 18:33
Edit2024.05.13 22:39
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‘Jamjjami’ created by the minimum wage
Both store owners and part-time workers walk a tightrope of crime.Local convenience store owners are in a dilemma.
If you meet the hourly rate, your business will be closed or your part-time job will be cut.
Photo = Hankyung DB “Most local convenience stores cannot meet the minimum wage. “The shop owner either works alone for 16 to 17 hours a day or risks becoming a criminal and uses part-time workers for less than minimum wage. “
Mr. Kim, who runs a 24-hour convenience store in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, sighed and said this on the 13th. Mr. Kim recently closed one of the two stores he operated. The amount of money that Mr. Kim receives from the headquarters, excluding purchase costs and franchise fees, is about 6.5 million won per month. Here, excluding monthly rent (about 1.4 million won) and the labor costs of four part-time workers on weekends and weekdays (about 5.7 million won), the income recorded in the ‘negative’ bank account. Mr. Kim said, “Since business is not going well, instead of cutting off part-time workers, we decided to pay 9,000 won, which is lower than the legal minimum wage (9,860 on to win per hour). , but if I don’t do this, I can’t live with the labor costs that are rising every year.” Local convenience stores are suffering from a ‘double whammy’ with declining sales and rising labor costs. Business is becoming increasingly difficult due to a decline in spending, and the increase in the minimum wage is causing more money to be lost for labor costs. There are many cases of paying an hourly wage below the minimum wage by ‘collaborating’ with part-time workers, and there are also cases of using ‘ -ghost workers’ who are not registered as employees and are only paid an hourly wage so they do not pay weekly holiday pay. and registration for the four main insurance policies.
Gye Sang-hyuk, president of the National Convenience Store Franchise Association, said, “The degree of economic decline is different in the metropolitan area and local areas,” and “it is necessary to differentiate the minimum wage a by region and industry.” Photo = News 1
“I Can’t Pay Minimum Wage”… Local Convenience Store Owner Who Uses ‘Ghost Part-time Work’ Won For 9,000
Minimum wages are avoided in local areas… “An exception is made only for the service industry.”
“These days, maybe 10 people come a day. “As prices have increased recently, the price per customer has decreased to the point that people who used to buy lunch boxes are switching to triangular kimbap. “
Mr. Kim, who runs a convenience store in Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do, said, “I have not made any profit for the past three months. ” There are two reasons why Mr. Kim was deficient. Monthly sales decreased due to a reduction in the price per guest, but the minimum wage increased early this year and labor costs increased from the high range of 1 million won to 2.2 million won. Mr. Kim complained, “It’s impossible to cover the same operating costs as a convenience store in downtown Seoul where 100 more people come every day. “
○ ‘Double whammy’ of lower sales and higher labor costs
According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy on the 13th, as of March last year, sales per store at convenience stores across the country decreased by 0.9% compared to the same month last year. Among the main offline distribution channels analyzed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, convenience stores were the only ones to decrease their sales. In the same period, sales per store increased at supermarkets (7.9%), department stores (8.9%), and corporate supermarkets (SSM, 1.1%). The number of purchases at convenience stores (-0.2%) also recorded a decline compared to the same month last year for the first time in 25 months from February 2022. Local convenience stores have been hit hard not only only with the decline in consumption but also with the population flow. Gyeonggi and Chungcheong provinces, where large corporations such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have factories, are seeing an influx of young people, but the common voice of local convenience store owners is that the entire commercial district is the Jeonbuk and other regions falling apart due to the continuous population outflow and hyper-aging.
The head of the Jeonbuk area sales department of a large franchise convenience store said, “People who used to eat at restaurants and bars usually come to convenience stores at the end of the night, but these days, restaurants close after 8pm, so the The number of customers at convenience stores has also decreased.”
Business is becoming increasingly difficult, and labor costs are rising every year. The minimum hourly wage in Korea this year is 9,860 won, a 2.5% increase from last year (9,620 won). If you include the weekly holiday allowance that must be paid to workers who work more than 15 hours a week, the actual amount is almost 12,000 won. An official in the convenience store industry said, “In rural areas, most stores have no choice but to see a ‘minus’ if they pay the minimum wage,” and added, “‘Split part-time work’, which includes employing multiple. employees to avoid even their weekly holiday allowance, has become a business practice for a long time. ”
○ “They make you unable to work even if you want to.”
There are many cases where people cannot work even if they want to because of the strict minimum wage system. Mr Lee, who runs a convenience store in Wonju, Gangwon-do, said, “Especially young students and housewives ask, ‘Please use it because I don’t need less than the minimum wage. to pay’ or ‘Please let me work. longer hours because I don’t have to pay holiday every week.’ However, this could lead to them becoming criminals.” “I can’t hire people because I’m worried,” he said.
An increasing number of stores are abandoning high-margin alcohol and cigarette sales and switching to hybrid (late night operation) because they cannot cope with high labor costs . Alcohol and cigarettes cannot be sold in unstaffed stores as adult verification is required. According to four convenience store companies, including CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, and E-Mart 24, the number of hybrid convenience stores nationwide increased significantly from about 2,000 in 2021 to about on 3,600 last year.
Voices among convenience store owners say, “It is urgent to introduce a system to differentiate the minimum wage according to region and industry.” Gye Sang-hyuk, president of the National Convenience Store Franchise Association, said, “The current minimum wage system is a system that prevents people who need jobs from finding jobs and forcing store owners to do unpaid work,” he said, “Yes we need to work the minimum wage flexibly to reflect local realities.”
Reporter Seon-ah Lee suna@hankyung.com
2024-05-13 09:33:26
#asked #write #less.. #convenience #store #owners #afraid
