[News Today] WAGE DELAYS FOR MIGRANT WORKERS

[LEAD]
As populations age and labor shortages hit rural and fishing areas, there's no option but to rely on foreign workers. Yet, almost half of those are unpaid on time, with wage issues escalating. We take a look.

[REPORT]
These Nepalese workers have worked at a farm in Chungcheongnam-do Province since June.

They lived in a greenhouse and had to work more than nine hours a day, receiving only 400,000 won, or about 286 dollars a month.

The farm owner deducted 700,000 to 800,000 won from the monthly salary for rent and other expenses.

The farm owner says since the workers opted to live close to the farm, he deducted living expenses from their salaries.

Migrant worker/ (VOICE MODIFIED)
The owner told us to go back to Nepal. He said we weren't his workers, reported us to the immigration office.

Five Cambodian seasonal workers who have worked at a farm in Chungcheongbuk-do Province since March are collectively owed over 16 million won, or 11,500 dollars, with each of them not getting payments of up to several million won.

Only after they had filed a petition to the labor ministry did the farm owner agree to pay them.

Four out of 10 farm workers who did not get paid on time between 2020 and July this year were foreign nationals.

With many migrant workers employed in rural areas, the issue of wage delays is becoming more serious.

Ahn Keon-su / Director, Migrant Workers Human Rights Center
They can't get much professional help when their pay is delayed. There are probably more of them, but they don't know where to go.

Workers who travel far from home and take on tough jobs have become essential to rural areas. There are growing calls to improve their working conditions.