[Takryucheongron] Measures Against Overwork Deaths of Delivery Workers: Some Ambiguities, but Expansion of Industrial Accident Insurance Is Positive

Jung Heung-jun, Professor of Business Administration at Seoul National University of Science and Technology.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea's domestic market has relatively well withstood the crisis, and a significant part of this success is attributed to the distribution industry, including online shopping. However, contrary to the industry's growth, the lives of delivery workers who operate at the final stage of online shopping are precarious. Although the volume of deliveries has greatly increased, leading to somewhat higher income, working hours have also significantly risen. Since the beginning of this year, 10 delivery workers have lost their lives due to overwork. According to government announcements, the average daily working hours of delivery workers is 12.1 hours, and they work 71.3 hours per week (based on the investigation by the Delivery Workers Overwork Death Countermeasures Committee). This already exceeds the risk threshold for death from overwork.

In response to social concerns about delivery workers' deaths from overwork, the government announced a joint inter-ministerial plan on the 12th to prevent overwork deaths among delivery drivers. The government’s measures are positive in two respects. First, the government has acknowledged the reality surrounding delivery work and recognized the necessity of countermeasures. It stated that measures regarding working conditions and industrial safety are needed due to the long working hours and poor working conditions of delivery workers that have been raised so far. Furthermore, the government promised to enact the Living Logistics Service Act, which strengthens the responsibility of delivery companies by recognizing that delivery companies and large consignors such as home shopping companies bear significant legal responsibility as contracting parties for delivery workers. Second, as a party responsible for designing the social safety net, the government pledged to play a responsible role. Specifically, it promised to amend the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act to significantly expand delivery workers' enrollment by reducing the exclusion from industrial accident insurance to unavoidable reasons, and to promote enrollment in employment insurance through amendments to the Employment Insurance Act.

There are limitations in terms of concrete implementation. The recommended measures included in the government plan?appropriate working hours, volume adjustment systems, restrictions on late-night deliveries, and a five-day workweek?are all advisory, meaning their implementation depends on the willingness of delivery companies. Particularly, regarding the contentious issue of workload sharing for sorting tasks, the plan only states that it will induce reasonable contract agreements, raising doubts about its effectiveness. The ambiguity of the government’s plan stems from the fact that delivery workers are classified as one-person self-employed rather than wage workers, making it difficult to strictly apply the Labor Standards Act. However, there is a contradiction here as well. Most delivery workers work exclusively for a specific delivery company and receive direct or indirect work instructions from the company, classifying them as special employment workers who are 'disguised self-employed.'

To prevent overwork deaths among delivery workers, several measures are necessary. First, the government and the National Assembly must not delay the amendment of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, the Employment Insurance Act, and the enactment of the Living Logistics Act to ensure the sustainable development of the delivery industry and the protection of delivery workers. These bills are not only about preventing overwork deaths among delivery workers but also relate to the social safety net for all working laborers. Ultimately, this will lead to strengthening the competitiveness of the industrial ecosystem. Second, the government should correct unfair practices such as illegal rebates and institutionalize the resolution of specific labor conditions autonomously by labor and management. To this end, as most advanced countries guarantee by law, labor rights including the right to organize and bargain collectively must be guaranteed for special employment workers. In that case, delivery workers can autonomously determine labor conditions such as appropriate fees and working hours through collective bargaining with contracting parties like delivery companies. Third, the Delivery Driver Overwork Prevention Measures Council proposed by the government is a social dialogue body involving all stakeholders and experts related to the delivery industry, and the government should spare no support or authority to ensure its successful outcomes.

Jung Heung-jun, Professor of Business Administration, Seoul National University of Science and Technology