Careful discussion on the symbolism of breaking 10,000 won
The gap between labor and management demand is 825 won
Deliberation by the Minimum Wage Committee to determine the minimum wage for next year has set a record for the longest since the introduction of the current method.
As the gap between labor and management was wide and variables such as the vacancy of the workers’ committee emerged, the public interest committee members demanded the submission of amendments by the final day, continuing the discussion to the last line. In particular, since the symbolism of the ‘minimum wage of 10,000 won’ is great, caution was added to the level discussion.
The 18th, when the 14th plenary meeting was held, is the 109th day since Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung-sik requested the Supreme Council to review next year’s minimum wage on March 31. The longest deliberation period since 2007, when the current decision method was adopted, in which the minimum wage applicable from January 1 to December 31 of the following year is notified before August 5 of the previous year, was 108 days in 2016. In addition to the longest review period, the level decision date was also the latest. The time when the deliberation was the latest was also July 16, 2016, which changed the record in 7 years.
In this year’s appointment committee, which was operated amid the wave of labor reform, there was a sharp confrontation between labor and management from the beginning.
Differential payment by industry, which the management community insisted on, was canceled after a vote, but discussions on wage levels were delayed as controversy over the dismissal and appointment of arrested workers’ representatives and government guidelines arose. As the first demand, the labor world put forward 12,210 won per hour (2,551,890 won when applying 209 hours per month), a 26.9% increase from this year (9,620 won) to reduce the real wage due to inflation and stabilize the livelihood of low-wage workers.
On the other hand, the business community argued for the ability of small businesses to pay wages and confronted them with a ‘freeze’. However, the gap, which initially reached 2,590 won, was narrowed to 825 won in the 7th amendment proposed as of 5:00 pm on the same day. The minimum wage has been decided by consensus only six times since the implementation of the minimum wage system, and 2008 was the last.
Discussion on the minimum wage proceeds in a way that narrows the gap after labor and management present their initial demands. If the disagreement is not narrowed, the decision is made by voting, but both labor and management have objected to the result. This year, there is an aspect that ‘birth pain’ continued as public interest members induced a method of narrowing the gap through amendment until the final day instead of the deliberation promotion section and arbitration proposal.
Reporter Sejong Park Seung-gi
2023-07-18 12:28:20
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