SEOUL– Labor and business representatives negotiating next year’s minimum wage revised their proposals on Thursday but narrowed their gap by only a fraction.
During a meeting of the Minimum Wage Commission, a tripartite panel composed of nine members each from labor, business and the general public, the labor side offered to lower its proposed hourly rate to 10,440 won (US$9.11), while the business side offered to raise its proposal to 8,740 won.
The numbers represent a 19.7 percent and 0.2 percent increase from this year, respectively.
The labor side had initially demanded an hourly rate of 10,800 won, while the business side had called for a freeze at the current rate of 8,720 won.
In protest of the incremental increase proposed by the business side, four labor representatives, all recommended by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, left the room.
It was the commission’s eighth plenary session this year at the government complex in Sejong.
Workers have complained that the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt their real income by worsening income inequality and pushing up prices. Businesses, for their part, have contended that the pandemic has brought huge losses and debts to small firms.
The commission is up against a tight deadline as the Ministry of Employment and Labor is required by law to publicly announce the new rate by Aug. 5.
The next plenary session has tentatively been scheduled for Monday, leading to speculation an agreement will be reached then.
Source: Yonhap News Agency