Korea hikes minimum wage for workers — DOLE

Korea has raised the minimum wage for all workers, including foreign workers under its Employment Permit System, the Department of Labor and Employment said.

 

DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz cited a report from Philippine Overseas Labor Office Korea head Felicitas Bay that the new rate is 5.76 percent higher from last year.

 

"The new rate represents an increase of 5.76 percent over last year’s minimum wage rate of 36,640 Korean won for eight hours of work rendered. The minimum wage rate, however, shall not apply to workers with disabilities, those working in their family businesses, domestic workers, and seafarers," the DOLE said.

 

Under the new policy, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 this year, the minimum daily wage for workers covered by the new policy is 38,880 Korean won for eight hours of work a day.

 

This is also equivalent to a monthly rate of KRW 1,015,740 Korean won (equivalent to $958).

 

According to the DOLE, there are some 30,000 Filipino workers deployed to Korea since 2004, mostly working in the manufacturing sector.

 

The Minimum Wage Council of Korea is the official body that determines the minimum wage through a system that guarantees minimum livelihood for workers.

 

It is composed of representatives from management, labor, and public interest, mainly academics, 

 

The Council recommends the minimum wage rate to the MOEL after its annual review and requires employers by law to pay wages not lower than the said rate.

 

Meanwhile, Baldoz said workers may seek assistance against employers who fail to pay the prescribed salary by going to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, or to the nearest job stability center which has jurisdiction over the concerned workers’ workplace.

 

Korea is one of the Philippines’s favored destinations for OFWs because of the demand for foreign workers under the EPS system, especially in labor shortage industries, such as agriculture, stockbreeding, fishery, construction, and manufacturing.  — ELR, GMA News