Non-Regular Workers Hit Hard by COVID-19... Unpaid Leave During Quarantine Period

Published 10 Apr.2022 16:55(KST)

Workplace Abuse 119, Survey of 2,000 Workers and 430 Confirmed Cases

On the 10th, citizens are waiting to get tested for COVID-19 at the temporary screening clinic at Seoul Station in Jung-gu. <br>[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 10th, citizens are waiting to get tested for COVID-19 at the temporary screening clinic at Seoul Station in Jung-gu.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] A survey has revealed that economic disadvantages such as income reduction, unpaid leave during quarantine, and unemployment due to COVID-19 are concentrated among non-regular workers, small businesses, and low-wage workers.

Workplace Gapjil 119 disclosed the results of a survey titled “COVID-19 and Changes in Workplace Life” on the 10th, which contained these findings.

The survey was conducted from the 24th to the 31st of last month, targeting 2,000 office workers, commissioned to the public opinion research firm Embrain Public in collaboration with the Public Mutual Growth Solidarity Fund. Among them, 430 confirmed cases were surveyed with separate questions.

According to the survey results, non-regular workers, workplaces with fewer than five employees, service workers, and low-wage workers experienced more unemployment and income reduction due to COVID-19 compared to regular workers, public institutions and large corporations, office workers, and high-wage workers.

Since January 2020, 17.2% of respondents answered that they had experienced unemployment due to COVID-19. By respondent characteristics, non-regular workers accounted for 31.4%, which is 4.1 times higher than regular workers (7.7%). In particular, low-wage workers earning less than 1.5 million KRW per month showed 31.4%, which is 5.5 times higher than high-wage workers earning over 5 million KRW per month (5.7%).

Workers at workplaces with fewer than five employees accounted for 24.7%, which is 2.2 times higher than large corporations (11.2%). The proportion of respondents who said their income “decreased” also showed a 2 to 3.4 times difference between regular workers (16.8%) and non-regular workers (57.0%), public institutions (21.8%) and workplaces with fewer than five employees (44.2%), and high-wage workers (16.8%) and low-wage workers (57.7%).

Next, when asked whether they could freely use vaccination, testing, and quarantine leave without worrying about disadvantages to prevent and contain COVID-19 infection over the past three months, 70.8% of regular workers answered “yes,” while only 48.0% of non-regular workers did.

In-depth survey results of 430 respondents who had a history of COVID-19 infection were also disclosed. The response that they took “unpaid leave or unpaid suspension” during the quarantine period showed a large difference between non-regular workers (42.1%) and regular workers (16.2%), workplaces with fewer than five employees (40.3%) and public institutions (13.6%). In particular, low-wage workers (60.0%) were 18 times higher than high-wage workers (3.3%).

The ways confirmed cases handled work during their absence from work were “additional paid leave or paid suspension” (28.4%), “unpaid leave or unpaid suspension” (25.8%), and “working from home” (23.3%), in that order.

The proportion of respondents who said their income “decreased” during their absence from work was 34.0%. There was a 2 to 5 times gap between regular workers (23.6%) and non-regular workers (51.6%), public institutions (20.3%) and workplaces with fewer than five employees (48.6%), high-wage workers (11.7%) and low-wage workers (54.5%), and office workers (14.5%) and production workers (53.8%) and service workers (54.7%).

Kwon Duseop, CEO of Workplace Gapjil 119, said, “Regular workers, large corporations, and public institutions have introduced paid sick leave systems through collective agreements or employment rules, but small and micro enterprises, low-wage, and non-regular workers do not have such systems.” He added, “Paid sick leave systems to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19 should be introduced into labor law, and freelancers, special employment types, and workplaces with fewer than five employees should also be covered.”