"Both Labor and Management Face Crisis This August"... Corporate Taxi Union and Labor Federation Hold Press Conference Urging Immediate Revision of 'Monthly Salary System'

The National Taxi Association and the National Taxi Labor Union Federation held a press conference urging the immediate revision of the taxi monthly salary system scheduled to be implemented in August.

At the press conference held on the 9th in front of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in Sejong City, the corporate taxi labor-management representatives called the corporate taxi monthly salary system, which is just three months away, a "bad law that kills both taxi labor and management," and urged the revision of the Act on the Development of Taxi Transportation Business (Taxi Development Act) at the May extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

The corporate taxi monthly salary system was introduced as an alternative to the existing daily quota system, which encourages long working hours, to improve the treatment of taxi drivers and guarantee stable income. It was first introduced in Seoul in January 2021 and is scheduled to be expanded nationwide in August.

Representatives of labor and management from corporate taxis nationwide held a press conference on the 9th in front of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's north gate, urging the revision of the taxi monthly salary system. [Image source=National Taxi Association]

In Busan, taxi drivers currently give all their earnings to the company, and then receive a portion based on a ratio agreed upon by labor and management under the full management system.

If the taxi monthly salary system is implemented, the current weekly working hours of 25 to 30 hours will increase to over 40 hours, resulting in higher wages. The corporate taxi association claims that they do not have the capacity to implement the monthly salary system due to the direct impact of COVID-19.

A corporate taxi company official said, "The number of taxi drivers has decreased by more than 30% compared to 2019, just before COVID-19, and the operation rate has also dropped significantly, putting all taxi companies in a management crisis," adding, "We do not have the capacity to pay wages corresponding to more than 40 hours per week under the taxi monthly salary system."

There is a warning that if the monthly salary system, introduced to improve the treatment of taxi drivers, is implemented as is, taxi companies might shut down entirely. Naturally, the workplaces of taxi drivers would also become precarious.

The taxi industry believes that forcing mostly elderly taxi drivers to work the prescribed 40 hours per week will undermine labor flexibility and ultimately exacerbate the manpower shortage.

The corporate taxi association demanded that the government and the National Assembly revise the Taxi Development Act to allow labor and management to freely agree on working conditions and prescribed working hours.

Jang Seong-ho, director of the Busan Taxi Transportation Business Association, said, "Even Seoul, which implemented the monthly salary system three years ago, is currently operating a variable wage system rather than a full monthly salary system due to unstable transportation income," and added, "The reality of the corporate taxi industry is that transportation income falls short of the appropriate transportation cost required to implement the monthly salary system, so we need to find a way to improve taxi drivers' treatment while allowing companies to survive."

Director Jang warned, "It is urgent to improve the system so that labor and management of corporate taxis can agree on prescribed working hours that fit reality, and if we miss the golden time of May, the corporate taxi industry will fall into irrecoverable chaos."

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