Lee Jae-myung Raises 'Fair Allowance for Non-Regular Workers' Again... "Additional Compensation Needed for Employment Instability" (Comprehensive)

8th Clear Action... Introduced During Gyeonggi Province Governor Term
"Largest Ever Wage Gap Between Regular and Irregular Workers"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced his pledge to resolve labor market polarization by proposing the ‘Fair Allowance for Non-regular Workers,’ which he introduced during his tenure as Governor of Gyeonggi Province.

On the 9th, Lee announced the eighth ‘Myeonghwakhaeng (Lee Jae-myung’s Certain Happiness)’ pledge, the ‘Fair Allowance for Non-regular Workers,’ through Facebook. He stated, "The Lee Jae-myung administration will substantially improve the lives of non-regular workers based on the achievements of the Gyeonggi Province Fair Allowance for Non-regular Workers," and added, "We will seek policy alternatives together with the National Assembly, companies, and workers to expand the Fair Allowance for Non-regular Workers beyond the public sector to the private sector."

The Fair Allowance for Non-regular Workers was introduced by Lee during his time as Governor of Gyeonggi Province. It is a system that provides higher allowances to non-regular public sector workers in Gyeonggi Province who have shorter periods of employment. He explained, "In the first year of implementation in 2021, we provided differential payments ranging from a minimum of 5% to a maximum of 10% of the base salary to 1,792 non-regular fixed-term workers in Gyeonggi Province," and added, "This year, considering the economic difficulties caused by COVID-19 and the increase in living wages, allowances increased by 5.7% will be paid to 2,085 non-regular workers."

Lee said, "It may be natural that non-regular workers, who are not guaranteed employment stability, receive higher pay than regular workers, but the reality is the exact opposite," and continued, "Non-regular workers suffer from overlapping discrimination due to instability and low wages, and the job polarization caused by wage gaps is becoming increasingly severe."

He explained the time when the Fair Allowance for Non-regular Workers was introduced, saying, "There was opposition. It was against the existing system of ‘regular workers = high stability and high wages,’ and since it was the first system implemented in Korea, there were many concerns."

He went on, "We cannot just stand by because the lives of non-regular workers cannot wait. The COVID-19 crisis posed an even greater threat to non-regular workers who already live unstable lives, and the wage gap between regular and non-regular workers was widening to an unprecedented level."

He added, "Of course, the discriminatory structure in the labor market will not be resolved immediately. However, just as a butterfly’s small flap can become a typhoon, I believe that small policy changes can transform the existing practice of ‘non-regular workers = instability and low wages’ and inspire imagination for greater change."

After finishing a meeting with small business owners at a small theater in Daehangno, Seoul, on the same day, Lee met with reporters and said, "When the Fair Allowance was introduced in Gyeonggi Province, we specifically supported up to about 10% for those employed less than one year. I think that is still insufficient," and elaborated, "For those employed over one year, 10% of the average wage is paid as severance pay, but if it is less than one year, even that is not provided."

He emphasized, "If the same amount of time is worked, doing the same job and producing results, additional compensation for employment instability is necessary. Only then will it be beneficial for employers to hire regular workers rather than non-regular workers for continuous and regular work," and added, "I believe we need to correct the culture that is harsher to the vulnerable in our society."

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