By Kim Se-jeong
The National Human Rights Commission is urging the government to protect tens of thousands of apartment building security guards who face a potential layoff because of a scheduled wage increase next year.
“We ask the Ministry of Employment and Labor to take necessary measures so that they can keep their jobs,” the commission said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement comes amid a change in an enforcement ordinance that will guarantee a government-set minimum wage to these workers starting on Jan. 1. Residents or building managers who fail to pay the money will be punished. Their salary is now 90 percent of the minimum wage.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said that up to 40,000 security guards could face being laid off across the country.
The massive layoff seems inevitable because apartment residents, who usually pay for the guards’ wages, say they will not spend more money.
“An apartment security guard position is called the ‘last job’ for retired people in their old age,” the commission said.
“A massive layoff of security guards, who work despite poor conditions, is a problem that needs to be solved immediately. Also, the layoffs would mean that residents’ safety cannot be guaranteed.”
The guards’ wage was set lower than the minimum wage in 2007, with a gradual increase to 100 percent level in 2015.
“The opposition from apartment residents has been so strong that politicians kept the wage low for years. But now, it’s no longer possible,” said a Korean Contingent Workers’ Center (KCWC) official.
She said that pushing the ministry would not solve the problem. To this end, activists for temporary workers are trying to persuade apartment residents to pay the extra money.
“If you pay only 3,000 to 10,000 won more a month, these people can keep their jobs. It’s not so much,” she said.
But some residents are unhappy about the increase.
“I pay between 40,000 and 50,000 every month just for two guards at my apartment building,” said Lee Kyung-soon from Seoul’s Mapo district. “This is not a small amount if you think about it.”
The exact number of security guards across the country is unknown, but the human rights commission estimates Seoul alone has almost 35,000 such workers.
They often work in rotation, running day-to-day errands for each apartment building, and sometimes working through the night. They are mostly men in their late 50s or older. The work is very much coveted among urban retirees.
Yet they are work under poor conditions, with apartment residents often abusing them. A recent survey of 152 security guards showed 36 percent had been verbally abused two to three times a month, while 6 percent said they were abused almost every day.
About 9 percent had been physically assaulted at least once over the past one year.