Improving Courier Treatment, What Do You Think About 'Delivery Fee Increase'?

Kwonikwi "70% of Citizens Willing to Accept Delivery Fee Increase for Better Treatment of Delivery Workers"
Some Citizens Sympathize with Improving Delivery Workers' Conditions... Concern Over Delivery Fee Increase

A delivery worker is unloading delivery packages in an alley of a busy district in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Seunggon Han hsg@asiae.co.kr.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "Raising delivery fees does not seem to be the right way to improve the treatment of delivery workers."

Recently, as delivery workers have been suffering from overwork and other heavy workloads, resulting in a series of deaths, more citizens are sympathizing with the need to improve the working conditions of delivery workers. According to a survey, 7 out of 10 ordinary citizens agreed to partially increase delivery fees to improve the working environment of delivery workers. However, some argue that while they sympathize with improving the labor conditions of the workers, the cost should be borne by the companies, not passed on to consumers.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on the 10th that, according to the results of the "National Opinion Online Survey" conducted from the 29th of last month to the 5th of this month with a total of 1,628 respondents, 73.9% (1,203 people) agreed to partially increase delivery fees to improve the treatment of delivery workers.

Also, 73.9% of respondents said they agreed to the partial increase in delivery fees if the fees were used for improving the treatment of delivery workers. Regarding the necessity of mandatory industrial accident insurance enrollment for delivery workers, 95.9% agreed. When asked whether excessive working hours of workers should be reduced, 95.6% agreed.

Regarding the separation of parcel sorting work and delivery work, 93.4% of respondents agreed. Those opposed totaled 107 people (6.57%).

Delivery company officials are sorting parcels and packages. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

This year, there have been a total of eight cases of delivery workers' deaths presumed to be due to overwork. According to the Delivery Workers Overwork Death Countermeasures Committee, on the evening of the 8th of last month at around 7:30 PM in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, delivery worker Kim (48), working for CJ Logistics, was suddenly taken to the hospital due to respiratory distress but eventually passed away.

Kim was a delivery worker with about 20 years of experience, and according to his family, he had no known underlying illnesses. According to an investigation by the committee targeting Kim’s colleagues, Kim reportedly started work at 6:30 AM every day, finished between 9 and 10 PM, and delivered about 400 parcels daily on average.

Meanwhile, while there is general support for improving delivery workers' treatment, some argue that shifting the costs associated with improving labor conditions onto consumers through delivery fee increases infringes on consumer rights.

A delivery worker is organizing packages. The photo is unrelated to any specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

Kim, a man in his 40s who said he frequently uses delivery services, stated, "Isn't the delivery company ultimately passing the burden of improving delivery workers' treatment onto consumers through 'delivery fee increases'?" He emphasized, "Usually, companies cover employee welfare costs themselves; this seems inappropriate."

Another office worker in his 30s, Lee, said, "I understand and sympathize with the hardships of delivery workers," but added, "Raising delivery fees to improve workers' conditions doesn't seem reasonable." He continued, "Isn't this a company issue? If the company had managed well, the overwork problems wouldn't have occurred. The company should bear the costs, and delivery fees should not be raised."

Park, a university student in his 20s, said, "For university students, delivery fee increases are a bigger burden compared to office workers," and added, "I understand the workers' hardships, but this doesn't seem like the right way to solve the problem."

While social consensus is forming around raising delivery fees to improve delivery workers' treatment, many in the industry view raising delivery unit prices as realistically difficult. Since each delivery company has different positions, considering the industry's structure, the focus is expected to be more on cost reduction than price increases. There is also the risk of escalating into issues of collusion between companies. In particular, coordinating differences between delivery workers, agencies, and headquarters regarding delivery fee increases remains a challenge.

Meanwhile, Yang Jong-sam, Director of the Policy Improvement Bureau at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, said, "When summarizing the public opinions from the National Opinion platform, the conclusion is 'Safety first, even if it takes a little longer or costs a little more.'" He added, "We plan to promote institutional improvements by combining the opinions revealed in this survey with those presented at meetings with delivery workers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.