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Experts Say "Consumers Must Also Share the Pain"

On the 27th, delivery workers are sorting packages at the Hanjin Delivery Mapo Terminal in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Amid a series of presumed overwork-related deaths among delivery workers, delivery unions have consecutively declared general strikes demanding improvements in working conditions.

On the morning of the 27th, the National Delivery Solidarity Labor Union (Delivery Solidarity Union) held a "Lotte Delivery Nationwide General Strike Kickoff Ceremony" at the Seoul Complex Logistics Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, stating, "The company holds all responsibility and authority over delivery fees and terminal working conditions, yet it avoids responsibility by putting forward branch managers who have no authority," and insisted, "Lotte Delivery headquarters must take responsibility." Approximately 250 Lotte Delivery union members nationwide are participating in the Lotte Delivery general strike. The day before, the Public Transport Workers' Union Delivery Branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions also announced a general strike in front of the Ministry of Employment and Labor in Sejong City, demanding solutions to low delivery fees and the establishment of regulations limiting working hours.

The unions claim that while workloads have increased, delivery workers' delivery fees have been continuously cut over several years. According to the union, at the Lotte Delivery Seoul Songpa branch, delivery fees were steadily reduced from 968 won in 2017 to 935 won in 2018, 880 won in 2019, and 825 won in 2020. The union demands the restoration of the reduced fees and comprehensive improvements in sorting work.

With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), workloads surged significantly, and the series of presumed overwork-related deaths among delivery workers has emerged as a major social issue.

Delivery companies have also proposed countermeasures. Common measures among companies include the additional deployment of sorting support personnel, enrollment of delivery workers in industrial accident insurance, fine adjustments of excess volumes, and increased investment in delivery terminals. Hanjin Delivery became the first in the industry to decide to suspend late-night deliveries. However, the Delivery Workers Overwork Death Countermeasures Committee criticized the companies' measures as vague and called for the establishment of a public-private joint committee involving delivery companies, the countermeasures committee, the government, and the National Assembly. The committee stated, "To overcome the vagueness of the measures announced by delivery companies, it is necessary to meticulously plan who will do what and by when, and to verify each step of the process."

Professor Lee Jeong-hee of the Department of Economics at Chung-Ang University said, "While delivery volumes increased, delivery fees were restricted from rising, which intensified labor intensity. There is a need to make delivery fees more realistic, and it is time for consumers to share the burden as well."