Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Automakers blamed for violating overtime work rule
By Lee Hyo-sik
The government revealed Sunday all car producers here _ Hyundai, Kia, Ssangyong, General Motors and Renault Samsung _ have broken labor standard laws by forcing their employees to work by more than a legal ceiling of 12 extra hours.
Employers here are legally prevented from making employees work more than 12 hours in overtime. This rule has been considered an exception for autoworkers forced to put in a lot more hours in overtime, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The ministry said, among others, Hyundai Motor’s plants in Jeonju and Ulsan, Kia Motors’ Hwaseong plant and General Motors’ Bupyeong plant were frequent violators of the overtime rule.
“Local automakers have placed top priority on signing secret pacts with union leadership to keep employees working for extended hours. This labor practice hinders carmakers from hiring new staff and improving labor productivity,” a ministry official said.
He said the government will take measures to make the automakers stop this practice. “We asked auto companies to submit a comprehensive plan to improve working conditions for laborers. We will continue to check whether they follow up on the plan. If they are found to violate the law again, we will refer them to the prosecution,” the official said.
All five automakers operate a double-shift, meaning employees have to work for 12 hours a day. Employees of Hyundai, Kia and General Motors were found to have worked for over 8 hours on either Saturday or Sunday each week.
Autoworkers work an average of 55 hours per week, 14 hours more than the average Korean salaried employee. Compared to their overseas competitors, employees of local carmakers spent 800 more hours in a plant per year, the ministry said.
However, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), a lobbying group for local carmakers, strongly protested the labor ministry’s actions, stressing they do not reflect reality.
“The government has failed to take into account what it is like in the field. To compete with foreign rivals, local carmakers need to manage their workforce in a flexible manner and make workers put more hours into production because powerful labor unions and rigid labor-related laws make it difficult for employers to hire new workers,” a KAMA spokesman said.
He said if the government continues to unilaterally apply the labor standard act to the auto industry without considering the true aspects facing domestic carmakers, companies will build more plants overseas, which will weaken the local production base and hinder job creation.