New formula for minimum wage faces backlash from labor
The government unveiled a modified formula to determine the minimum wage Monday. The draft calls for dividing the Minimum Wage Committee into two subcommittees ― one responsible for proposing the upper and lower limits of the wage and the other to decide on the actual rate within those limits.
It is the first systemic change in 31 years since the Minimum Wage Law went into effect in 1988. So the modified method has several problems to solve to activate the new subcommittees and determine next year's minimum wage.
The current 27-member Minimum Wage Committee ― nine each representing employees, employers and the public interest ― deliberates and decides on each year's minimum wage until July and announces it in August. From now on, labor and management organizations will recommend the nine experts who will make up the range-setting subcommittee.
Already, however, unions are against the new method because it could undermine the autonomy of labor and management. They are accusing the government of trying to curb minimum wage hikes.
It is desirable in this regard for the government to supplement the criteria to determine the minimum wage. Currently, the committee takes into account workers' living costs, labor productivity and income distribution. The new standards will add ― rightly ― the employment level, the economic situation and social security benefits. This could spark controversy over which economic indicators the committee should take into account.
The Moon Jae-in administration, faced with various side effects from steep minimum wage hikes, has virtually withdrawn its campaign pledge to raise the hourly minimum wage to 10,000 won ($8.92) by 2020. It should first try to build a consensus on the issue among labor and management to revise the process reasonably, learning from the trials and errors of the past.
We welcome a government move to change how to select the wage committee members. Under the draft plan, the members will be chosen at the recommendation of labor, management and the National Assembly. The legal minimum wage should be set to help stabilize the livelihoods of wage earners without being subject to political influence. It is the only way the nation can prevent conflicts over how to set the wage every year.
The government unveiled a modified formula to determine the minimum wage Monday. The draft calls for dividing the Minimum Wage Committee into two subcommittees ― one responsible for proposing the upper and lower limits of the wage and the other to decide on the actual rate within those limits.
It is the first systemic change in 31 years since the Minimum Wage Law went into effect in 1988. So the modified method has several problems to solve to activate the new subcommittees and determine next year's minimum wage.
The current 27-member Minimum Wage Committee ― nine each representing employees, employers and the public interest ― deliberates and decides on each year's minimum wage until July and announces it in August. From now on, labor and management organizations will recommend the nine experts who will make up the range-setting subcommittee.
Already, however, unions are against the new method because it could undermine the autonomy of labor and management. They are accusing the government of trying to curb minimum wage hikes.
It is desirable in this regard for the government to supplement the criteria to determine the minimum wage. Currently, the committee takes into account workers' living costs, labor productivity and income distribution. The new standards will add ― rightly ― the employment level, the economic situation and social security benefits. This could spark controversy over which economic indicators the committee should take into account.
The Moon Jae-in administration, faced with various side effects from steep minimum wage hikes, has virtually withdrawn its campaign pledge to raise the hourly minimum wage to 10,000 won ($8.92) by 2020. It should first try to build a consensus on the issue among labor and management to revise the process reasonably, learning from the trials and errors of the past.
We welcome a government move to change how to select the wage committee members. Under the draft plan, the members will be chosen at the recommendation of labor, management and the National Assembly. The legal minimum wage should be set to help stabilize the livelihoods of wage earners without being subject to political influence. It is the only way the nation can prevent conflicts over how to set the wage every year.
