The Minimum Wage Commission will hold its third plenary session at the Government Complex Sejong on the 4th to discuss whether to apply the minimum wage to contract-based workers such as delivery drivers. Delivery drivers, parcel delivery drivers, and designated driver service drivers, who are paid based on job performance, fall under contract-based workers. They are under the management and supervision of corporations but are classified as sole proprietors and are not subject to the Labor Standards Act.
The labor community has argued that the minimum wage should apply to contract-based workers, but it was scrapped due to opposition from management. The debate gained momentum after Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Labor Ministry formally requested that the Minimum Wage Commission deliberate on whether to apply the minimum wage to contract-based workers.
On the day, Ryu Ki-seob, the representative of the worker commissioners (secretary-general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions), said in opening remarks, "It is time to provide an answer to protect contract-based workers, including platform workers and freelancers," adding, "Expanding the application of the minimum wage is the minimum human-rights measure to protect them in a low-wage labor market where traditional employment relationships have collapsed."
Lee Mi-seon, a vice chair of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), said, "Guaranteeing the minimum wage for 8.7 million special employment and platform workers can no longer be delayed; it is a task of the times," adding, "We must not conclude by telling workers who have waited for more than 10 years to wait longer."
Ryu Ki-jung, a commissioner speaking on behalf of the employer commissioners (executive vice president of the Korea Enterprises Federation), said, "The minimum wage is a system that applies to workers under the Labor Standards Act," adding, "Whether the subjects of discussion fall under workers must be determined first, but the Minimum Wage Commission cannot decide this at its discretion."
Yang Ok-seok, a commissioner who is head of human resources policy at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, said, "When even the worker status of contract-based workers has not been established, the Minimum Wage Commission cannot arbitrarily decide on applicability," adding concerns that "an excessive application would undermine the employment flexibility of contract-based work and could instead lead to job losses."