IMMIGRANT WORKERS NOT PAID PROPERLY

입력 2021.06.24 (15:19) 수정 2021.06.24 (16:45)

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[Anchor Lead]

Migrant workers are indispensable in rural areas where worker shortages are severe. But many migrant workers are not paid properly. The problem is especially serious at small firms with fewer than five workers.

[Pkg]

This worker from Uzbekistan has worked at this fishing gear and equipment factory in Jeollanam-do Province for four years. He works 11 hours a day without any employment contract, but he has yet to be fully paid. He has also learned belatedly that his salary is hundreds of millions of won lower than the minimum wage in Korea. Taking also into account his severance pay, the employer now owes him more than 28 million won.

[Soundbite] (Migrant worker from Uzbekistan) : "When I just started working here, my boss promised me minimum wage. But it turned out my salary was lower than that."

This worker from Kazakhstan has worked at a recycling factory for five months. He's been underpaid one million won. He reported his situation to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, but his employer is now out of reach.

[Soundbite] (Migrant worker from Kazakhstan) : "To some, one million won may be a small amount, but to me it's a lot of money that I really need."

Both factories have fewer than five employees. Eight out of ten migrant workers in rural areas work at small firms like such. The owners of small firms tend to skip employment contracts when hiring migrant workers, and are not obliged to pay overtime or extra on holidays. The small substitute payment system, whereby the government pays overdue wages on behalf of employers, does not apply to agricultural and fishing farms with fewer than five workers.

[Soundbite] Kim Hye-min(Lawyer) : "This system was introduced to protect small businesses, but in reality it is used for labor exploitation at firms with fewer than five workers. The relevant law must be revised."

The amount of overdue wages for migrant workers has surged from 50 billion won in 2015 to 150 billion last year, tripling in just five years.

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  • IMMIGRANT WORKERS NOT PAID PROPERLY
    • 입력 2021-06-24 15:19:16
    • 수정2021-06-24 16:45:23
    News Today
[Anchor Lead]

Migrant workers are indispensable in rural areas where worker shortages are severe. But many migrant workers are not paid properly. The problem is especially serious at small firms with fewer than five workers.

[Pkg]

This worker from Uzbekistan has worked at this fishing gear and equipment factory in Jeollanam-do Province for four years. He works 11 hours a day without any employment contract, but he has yet to be fully paid. He has also learned belatedly that his salary is hundreds of millions of won lower than the minimum wage in Korea. Taking also into account his severance pay, the employer now owes him more than 28 million won.

[Soundbite] (Migrant worker from Uzbekistan) : "When I just started working here, my boss promised me minimum wage. But it turned out my salary was lower than that."

This worker from Kazakhstan has worked at a recycling factory for five months. He's been underpaid one million won. He reported his situation to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, but his employer is now out of reach.

[Soundbite] (Migrant worker from Kazakhstan) : "To some, one million won may be a small amount, but to me it's a lot of money that I really need."

Both factories have fewer than five employees. Eight out of ten migrant workers in rural areas work at small firms like such. The owners of small firms tend to skip employment contracts when hiring migrant workers, and are not obliged to pay overtime or extra on holidays. The small substitute payment system, whereby the government pays overdue wages on behalf of employers, does not apply to agricultural and fishing farms with fewer than five workers.

[Soundbite] Kim Hye-min(Lawyer) : "This system was introduced to protect small businesses, but in reality it is used for labor exploitation at firms with fewer than five workers. The relevant law must be revised."

The amount of overdue wages for migrant workers has surged from 50 billion won in 2015 to 150 billion last year, tripling in just five years.

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