Tentative Agreement on Improving Courier Labor Conditions... Union Concludes 2-Day, 1-Night Protest in Seoul

On the 16th, workers belonging to the National Courier Workers' Union continued a 1-night, 2-day sit-in protest at Yeouido Park in Seoul, demanding the reinforcement of dedicated courier sorting personnel and the enactment of laws to prevent death from overwork. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The large-scale rally held by the National Courier Workers' Union (Courier Union), which staged a two-day protest in Seoul demanding improvements in the working conditions of courier workers, has come to an end.

About 4,000 members of the Courier Union ended the rally and dispersed around 5:20 p.m. on the 16th after news broke that the courier industry labor and management had tentatively agreed on a mediation plan to prevent overwork deaths among courier workers.

On that day, at the meeting of the social agreement body for measures against courier overwork deaths, labor and management reportedly reached a tentative agreement on the timing of completely excluding courier workers from sorting tasks and on the issue of fee compensation due to reduced working hours.

Since the second social agreement has not been finalized, the exact contents of the agreement have not been disclosed. However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is said to have proposed in the mediation plan that from January 1 of next year, courier workers will be completely excluded from sorting tasks. The mediation plan also includes a provision to prevent overwork by ensuring that courier workers' working hours do not exceed 60 hours per week.

Additionally, the Post Office Courier Union, which accounts for more than half of the Courier Union, was unable to narrow differences with the Korea Post and decided to continue further discussions.

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