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In February 2020, a group of college students march with delivery boxes, demanding action to prevent the deaths of delivery workers from overwork. Reporter Kim Myeong-jin littleprince@hani.co.kr
[왜냐면] Kim Hae-sik | Doctorate from the Finnish National Institute of Science and Technology
The Supreme Court ruled that working hours of up to 21.5 hours per day is not illegal as long as it does not exceed 52 hours per week. This is likely to cause controversy as it is a regulation that further encourages overwork in our society, where people work at the highest levels of intensity and for the longest hours. A recent article in the British business magazine The Economist about rich countries in 2023 makes us think again about working hours in our country. This article compares rich countries using three indicators. The first indicator was gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, with Korea ranking 31st. The second indicator is gross domestic product per capita, based on purchasing power taking into account prices, and Korea ranked 30th. However, in the last indicator, which took into account working hours in each country based on purchasing power parity exchange rates, Korea’s GDP per capita fell sharply to 47th place. In other words, our country is still a country that earns high income while working long hours, and that also means that we are not very efficient compared to European countries where people work around 37.5 hours a week work. Already 10 years ago, an international study showed that overtime and long working hours were classified as second-class carcinogens, and there was also research showing that excessive working hours caused depression and anxiety disorders. That’s why long working hours are strict in Europe. Professions where night work is permitted in Finland include police, hospital and security services, as specified in the Labor Law. 12-hour shifts are not possible and work must be done in three shifts. In addition, buses traveling long distances were assigned two drivers, as was the case in Britain 10 years ago, and they took turns driving every two hours. My daughter, who attends middle school in Finland, is learning civics at school. In the civics course you will learn how taxes are calculated, why you have to pay them and what they are spent on. You will also learn why you have to vote, what rights and responsibilities you have as an employee, and what responsibilities and rights a capitalist has. Therefore, they are already familiar with basic labor laws by middle school age. I think this is a pretty important topic. In our country, many workers still do not know what rights and responsibilities they have as employees. Even when employers violate the law, they are often unaware of it and cannot properly enforce their rights as employees. In addition, Finland’s trade unions are well organized, so the rights and interests of workers are well protected. For example, if an employee is illegally fired from a company and has to fight a long legal battle with the company, a union lawyer will represent the employee. In a country that has supposedly become one of the developed and powerful countries and which has many cutting-edge industries and a forward-looking industrial structure, it is really unfortunate that the work structure still has long working hours at high intensity. Peace and quiet and a safe working environment are employee rights. We hope to create a better and safer workplace for workers through labor law reform and labor law training that meets our country’s standards.
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