Maternity leave pay to double

By Kim Se-jeong

The presidential committee on job creation said Thursday it will double the maternity leave pay as early as this year, one of President Moon Jae-in’s pledges.

In a press conference, committee chief Lee Yong-sup said the government will submit the plan to the National Assembly next week to be included in a discussion on a supplementary budget proposal.

If approved, female employees on maternity leave will receive 80 percent of their monthly pay, up from the 40 percent they now receive.

Thursday’s announcement was part of the new government’s first 100-day plan to create jobs and improve the quality of lives for workers.

“The priority is to create quality jobs. With that, I believe we can restore the healthy cycle of growth, jobs and fair distribution,” said Lee.

He added that the government will also launch a nationwide allowance program for young job seekers. With no details given, Lee said the program is designed to lessen their financial worries while seeking jobs. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province began such a program during the Park Geun-hye administration, despite setbacks from the central government. The program was well received.

The announced measures reflect the challenges facing Korea ― there aren’t many new jobs to begin with. People work longer hours while the minimum wage is below the OECD standard at 6,470 won per hour and many earn less than that.

The number of irregular workers is rising and the income gap between them and regular employees is widening. Korea’s labor market is also challenging for the elderly, women and minorities.

Lee said the government will push to increase the minimum wage to 10,000 won by 2020, one of Moon’s campaign pledges. He also added that the administration will push the Assembly to revise the law to limit weekly working hours to 52 from the current 68.

However, this may be difficult as there is already a big partisan divide.