Chanel, L'Oreal accused of banning store staff from sitting down

By Park Jae-hyuk

Employees of Chanel, L’Oreal and Bluebell Korea, who sell luxury cosmetics at department stores and duty free shops, have been staging a “sit-in” to protest company policies that force them to stay on their feet during working hours.

The Korean Federation of Service Workers’ Unions (KFSWU) said Tuesday salesclerks at global luxury brands sat on their chairs at department stores and duty free shops nationwide at 3 p.m. Monday.

The salesclerks said they have to work standing for over seven hours a day, despite government guidelines that urge employers to offer chairs to salesclerks.

The regulation, which took effect in 2008, states employers must put chairs in their shops so employees working in a standing position can sit down when they are not busy.

However, the workers claimed they have had to put their chairs aside during their entire shift, because management regards working in a sitting position as damaging to the luxury brands’ image.

Even if employers force their workers to stand, they are not punished, according to the current law. Although a revised bill was proposed in December 2017 to punish employers who deprive their employees of their right to sit, lawmakers have yet to approve the revision.

Workers of the imported luxury brands therefore complained of bunions they suffered during a National Assembly audit in 2017. Back then, Chanel’s union head Kim So-yeon said most of her colleagues were also having difficulties in pregnancy and delivery.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor promised to come up with guidelines for the salesclerks and conduct on-site inspections in September and October. However, the workers said their conditions have not improved since then.

“As employers deprived service workers of their rights to sit and rest, they have had to endure working in poor conditions,” a KFSWU spokesman said. “Starting from the recent collective action demanding the right to sit, we will demand improvements in staff lounges, restrooms and warehouses.”

From Sept. 27 to 29, the cosmetics salesclerks checked the shapes of chairs at staff lounges in their workplaces, so as to highlight their small sizes and insufficiency of places to rest.

The workers also checked distances between their cosmetics shops and restrooms in department stores and duty free shops. Plus, they inspected conditions at their stores’ warehouses, where they should store and find items while wearing high heels and tight uniforms.

They will disclose the results of their survey during an upcoming Assembly audit which will take place from Oct. 10 to 29.