"Old Age Is Hard Enough"… 'Elderly Workers' Who Can't Even Earn Minimum Wage

Average Hourly Wage for Elderly Workers 8,546 Won... Lower Than Minimum Wage
About 74% of Working Seniors Say "To Make a Living"
Hard to Escape Poverty Despite Long Hours, OECD... Elderly Poverty Ranks 1st
Experts Say "Need to Increase Productivity and Create Quality Jobs"

Elderly job seekers viewing recruitment information. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] #A, a caregiver in his 70s, is taking care of a patient with limited mobility. Due to the nature of the job, which requires caring for an immobile patient, A stays with the patient day and night, sharing meals and lodging, but his salary is extremely low. A expressed frustration, saying, "Even though I work around the clock, when my salary is converted to an hourly wage, it amounts to only 5,000 won per hour," adding, "It's hard to work at this age, but what's even more heartbreaking is that my labor is not even guaranteed to be worth the minimum wage."

Although the labor participation rate of elderly workers aged 65 and over is steadily increasing, it has been revealed that a significant number of them earn less than the minimum wage. Concerns are raised that elderly workers, who endure long hours of labor with frail bodies, find it difficult to escape the trap of poverty. Experts suggest that government support programs should enhance the job capabilities of elderly workers to create quality jobs.

According to the 'Minimum Wage Status Survey for Elderly Workers' released on the 1st by the Elderly Part-time Workers' Union Preparatory Committee and the Equality Workers' Association, among elderly workers aged 65 and over nationwide who receive basic pensions, 4 out of 10 earn hourly wages below the minimum wage.

The average age of those surveyed was 69.3 years, and their average hourly wage was 8,546 won, which is lower than this year's minimum hourly wage of 8,720 won.

Elderly workers engaged in fields such as security and caregiving are known to work for hourly wages below the legal minimum wage. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. / Photo by Yonhap News

The committee claims that employers deliberately reduce working hours to avoid violating minimum wage laws. For example, security guards mostly work 12-hour shifts in a relay system, but employers calculate about one-third of the actual working hours?approximately 4 hours?as break time and pay wages accordingly. When calculated based on the actual working hours of security guards, the average hourly wage is 6,346 won, which is significantly lower than the current legal minimum wage.

Given this situation, it is pointed out that elderly workers with earned income still find it difficult to escape poverty. Despite the active labor participation of seniors aged 65 and over in Korea, the elderly poverty rate remains among the worst in the OECD.

According to the '2020 Elderly Status Survey' released last month by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as of last year, 36.9% of seniors aged 60 and over reported having a job, showing a continuous increase since 2014 (28.9%).

The reason seniors participate in economic activities was cited as "to cover living expenses" by 73.9% of respondents. This means that most elderly people start working because they cannot live on pensions alone.

Despite the increase in economic participation among the elderly, Korea's elderly poverty rate remains the worst among OECD countries. As of 2018, Korea's elderly poverty rate was 43.4%, ranking first among OECD countries, about three times the OECD average of 14.8%.

Elderly people looking for jobs. / Photo by Yonhap News

Citizens criticized the fact that elderly workers who work hard do not even receive the minimum wage as unfair treatment.

B, a worker in his 20s, said, "Every morning when I take the train to work early, it is full of elderly people going to work," adding, "It is frustrating that our people work so diligently even in old age, yet they are not even given the minimum hourly wage."

C, a housewife in her 50s, said, "If there is no proper source of income after retirement, anyone would experience poverty. Elderly poverty is not an issue unrelated to us," and pointed out, "If living expenses cannot be covered by pensions, shouldn't proper jobs for the elderly be created?"

Experts suggested that it is necessary to create quality jobs for the elderly by improving their productivity through government support.

The Korean Labor Economics Association stated in a recently published report, "Many companies perceive elderly labor as a group with low productivity," and pointed out, "Even if the quantity of elderly jobs expands, there is a limit if qualitative improvement is not achieved."

They added, "Looking at elderly job policies in advanced countries such as the United States and Germany, education and counseling programs for the elderly, as well as job matching systems, are implemented simultaneously. The goal is to develop the working ability of the elderly so they can maintain employment," advising, "If productivity of the elderly improves through job training, it can have a meaningful impact on creating quality jobs."

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