Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Workers hold a sit-in at Bosingak Bell in Jongno-gu, Seoul, in April to demand changes in the workplace. Korea Times file |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Inexperienced migrant workers should be paid less than professional Koreans for at least the first few years after the migrants arrive, says Korea's business federation for small to medium size companies.
The Korea Federation of SMEs, also known as K-BIZ, earlier this month accepted most of its member companies' suggestions that raising migrant workers' wages more than 10 percent to the new legal minimum hourly wage starting January 2019 is unfair.
K-BIZ argued on Aug. 12 that the foreign workers, mostly inexperienced in the manufacturing sectors for which they were recruited, should be paid 80 percent of the minimum wage the first year, 90 percent the following year, and finally 100 percent in the third year.
Such a system is followed by many Korean companies that pay lower-than-regular wages to new employees during an aptitude assessment period that lasts from months to a year.
The government has raised the minimum hourly wage to 8,350 won ($7.45) starting next year, pressuring employers including Korean enterprises hiring migrant workers.
Korean employers reasoned that foreign workers should be paid less than Koreans during the first two years because their productivity falls short of Korean professionals, and companies must pay workers in line with productivity.
According to a survey from March 2017 by K-BIZ of migrant workers with non-professional E-9 visa, the foreign workers' labor-based productivity was 87.5 percent of their Korean counterparts, but their monthly wage was almost same ― 96.3 percent.
"Paying foreign workers almost the same as Koreans while their productivity is not as high as that of the Koreans can be a burden to Korean bosses," a K-BIZ official said. "Considering migrant workers' productivity and proficiency, a graded payment system is necessary."
In July, K-BIZ delivered the "graded payment system for migrant workers" motion to Minister of SMEs and Startups Hong Jong-haak and Rep. Kim Hak-yong, President of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee. The minister said he would "consider about it."
