Seongdong-gu, First Local Government Nationwide to Conduct Comprehensive Survey on Essential Workers' Wage Systems

Seeking Support for Essential Workers After the COVID-19 Pandemic, First Nationwide Wage Survey Conducted by a Local Government

Survey Conducted on 402 Workplaces Including Care Facilities, Covering Basic Salary to Allowances; In-depth Survey Planned for Labor Day

Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) has conducted the first comprehensive wage survey of essential workers among local governments nationwide.

As part of a study on the wage system and support measures for essential workers launched in March, the district conducted a survey on the wage system of essential workers within the region.

The survey was conducted from April 12 to 24, targeting 402 workplaces of essential workers in the area, including care facilities, welfare centers, daycare centers, and village bus transportation.

The district plans to continue the research on the wage survey and wage system reform measures until July.

The main focus was on wage management, wage systems, payment types, and methods, taking into account individual attributes such as length of service and employment type for each occupation. The survey covered the entire wage system, including basic salary, fixed allowances, and variable allowances. Seongdong-gu aims to explore wage system reform and support measures for practical policy implementation after establishing an institutional foundation such as ordinance enactment.

Seongdong-gu has focused on essential workers since the COVID-19 pandemic, enacting the nation’s first “Ordinance on the Protection and Support of Essential Workers” in September 2020. The district also launched awareness campaigns such as “Thank You, Essential Workers,” fostering broad social consensus, which ultimately led to the enactment of the “Act on Designation of Essential Work and Protection and Support for Workers” in May 2021. This became the first bill originating from a Seongdong-gu ordinance.

Support for essential workers with quarantine supplies

Since then, over 6,400 essential workers including care workers, social workers, apartment managers, and village bus drivers have been designated, with efforts made to protect their rights through support such as providing masks and diagnostic kits, free influenza vaccinations, and psychological counseling.

Essential workers play a crucial role in public services across various fields but are exposed to unstable labor conditions with low wages. Consequently, there have been ongoing demands for improving workers’ livelihoods as well as enhancing the quality of public services.

On May 1, Labor Day, Seongdong-gu plans to conduct surveys and in-depth interviews throughout May targeting essential workers to investigate changes in labor conditions, policy awareness, satisfaction, and support measures. Based on the survey results, the district intends to continue pursuing labor-respecting administration through feedback and discussion processes.

Building on this research, Seongdong-gu will develop Season 2 policies to modernize the wage system for essential workers and provide universal guidelines, strengthening the protection of essential workers’ rights and public services. Improving the treatment of essential workers not only expands quality jobs but also leads to the provision of better public services, thereby enhancing residents’ quality of life.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, stated, “Ensuring that essential workers can live dignified lives and eliminating income inequality is the minimum role a local government can play to improve workers’ rights in our society. We will also voice our opinions to the central government and the National Assembly to ensure essential workers can secure a basic standard of living.”

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