Courier Union: "We Absolutely Cannot Agree to the Social Agreement... Will Intensify Our Struggle"

On the morning of the 10th, the second day of the indefinite general strike by the delivery workers' union, delivery workers are sorting packages at a delivery center in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The National Courier Workers' Union, which has launched an indefinite full-scale strike, plans to escalate its struggle by demanding a resolution to the issue of commission compensation.

The Courier Workers' Overwork Death Countermeasures Committee held a press conference on the afternoon of the 11th at the Service Federation conference room in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, condemning the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's stance that it cannot accept a commission compensation plan for the reduced volume. They stated, "We absolutely cannot agree with the social agreement content that intends to forcibly reduce volume and delivery zones without any countermeasures to shorten working hours, especially when the implementation timing of the agreement has not even been decided."

The committee emphasized, "Over the past 30 years, the commission per delivery has continuously declined, forcing workers to deliver more parcels to compensate for wages, which has led to the current overwork deaths," adding, "This is not a demand for commission increases but a demand to compensate for the volume reduction corresponding to the shortened working hours."

According to the committee, courier workers must deliver more than 260 parcels per day and over 6,600 parcels per month, with an average commission of 750 won per parcel, to generate an average monthly revenue of 5.02 million won. Based on the government's proposed working hours of up to 60 hours per week, assuming delivery of 30 to 40 parcels per hour for private courier companies, courier workers who only deliver parcels would experience about a 10% wage reduction, the committee claims.

The committee stated, "We will strictly control illegal substitute delivery personnel except for those allowed under the Labor Union Act," and added, "In branches without the right to strike, in addition to starting work at 9 a.m. and beginning delivery at 11 a.m., we will not deliver items that violate standards or contract fees and are not obligated for delivery." Furthermore, the committee declared that all 6,500 union members of the Courier Workers' Union will strongly fight by mobilizing to Seoul for the struggle.