Will Paris Baguette be the next Ashley?

Part-timers accuse SPC, E-Land of delaying wages

By Park Jae-hyuk

SPC Group, owner of Paris Baguette and a Korean operator of Baskin Robbins and Dunkin’ Donuts, has been criticized by the Arbeit Workers Union (AWU), a trade union of part-time workers in Korea, for delaying wages of part-time workers.

The AWU demanded on Tuesday the government inspect franchise stores of SPC, so the group’s payment practices can be revealed to the public, as those of E-Land Park, an operator of 20 restaurant brands, were exposed on Monday.

E-Land has recently been under fire for withholding 8.4 billion won ($7 million) in wages this year from 44,000 part-timers who worked for its restaurants including the well-known family restaurant chain Ashley.

Rep. Lee Jung-mi of the minor opposition Justice Party had first raised the issue during a parliamentary audit in October, and then the Ministry of Employment and Labor investigated the company.

Although the company apologized for misconduct on Wednesday, consumers already began to boycott E-Land and civic groups have urged the government to arrest E-Land Park CEO Park Hyeong-sik.

Those consumers and civic groups named E-Land a vicious enterprise, because E-Land Retail, another subsidiary of E-Land Group, had also been embroiled in labor disputes by the discount chain employees in 2007, which was cinematized in “Cart” and dramatized in “Awl.”

“So many violations of the subsidiaries of E-Land Group are still reported to me,” said Rep. Lee during a press conference at the National Assembly, Thursday. “E-Land has become a symbol of an anti-labor enterprise among the public.”

The AWU claimed Paris Baguette has also withheld more than 7 billion won ($5.8 million) annually in wages on average, saying about 90 percent of the payments for annual leave have not been given to part-time workers.

The union said most franchise stores of SPC are violating the minimum wage act as well.

SPC and large retail franchises, on the other hand, claim that the current law prohibits the headquarters from meddling in the management of franchise stores, so the company has not been able to monitor payment to part-time workers.

They said the headquarters are trying their best, instructing store owners on a regular basis to make them obey the law faithfully.

Civic groups said the government should supervise franchise stores more closely and punish them more harshly when they violate labor laws, during a press conference in front of the headquarters of E-Land Park in southwestern Seoul, Thursday.

Still, most part-time workers of coffee shop chains, department stores and discount outlets suffer poor working conditions, according to the announcement of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Wednesday.

The ministry inspected 4,005 businesses, most of which are large retail franchises, from September to December and revealed that 3,108 businesses breached the Labor Standard Act.

“Most franchise stores hesitate to obey the law and won’t improve working conditions of teenage staff,” an official of the ministry stated in a press release, “so the government is considering conducting more inspections at such stores.”

The AWU said it will soon urge the government to inspect Korea’s three major convenience store chains ㅡ CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven. According to the union, violating the minimum wage law and withholding payment for overtime and annual leave are still common at most stores.