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BUCHEON, South Korea: It is 5.30 in the morning.
Most of South Korea is still asleep, but a logistics hub in the city of Bucheon, near Seoul, is already buzzing with activity.
Delivery workers are sorting thousands of packages, organizing them by addresses to which these same workers will send the packages later in the day.
It’s hard work, a necessary part of the job, but delivery men call these three or four hours spent every day “free labor.” They only start earning when packages are shipped to their designated addresses.
Kwon Doo-seon, who has been doing this for nearly 10 years, says he and his colleagues earn an average of $ 0.60 for each package delivered.
“That is why we were on strike and held protest rallies,” says Kwon. “We want other people to qualify. We spent hours doing that and we won nothing.”
Kwon Doo-seon earns an average of $ 0.60 for every package he delivers. (Photo: Lim Yun Suk)
Most of the deliveries in South Korea are handled by large logistics companies. They subcontract the work through independent agents or brokers to delivery workers like Mr. Kwon, who are considered subcontractors working on commission using their own vehicles.
Under South Korean labor laws, the limit is a 52-hour workweek, a limit that does not apply to subcontractors like Kwon.
“I used to work an average of 10 hours a day. But since the COVID-19 pandemic last year, 12 hours has become the norm,” he laments. “The pandemic has changed our lives.”
Tuesdays, with about 400 packages delivered, used to be the busiest, Kwon says. But now, it averages 500 to 600 per day.
DELIVERY “BULLET SPEED”
It is a trend that has been observed in many other countries. COVID-19 restrictions and fear of infection have led more consumers, including those in South Korea, to shop online.
Data from the South Korean government put the number of packages delivered last year at 3.37 billion, 21% more than the previous year.
In addition to increasing volumes, logistics companies competing for business promise ever faster delivery times. Coupang, a promising online retailer, is winning customers by promising “bullet-speed” services – deliveries made before midnight that arrive the next day at 7 am.
But Coupang and other logistics companies have come into the spotlight, accused of harsh working conditions that have reportedly resulted in the death of several workers.
“DEATH FROM EXCESS”
The Japanese term “karoshi” is one that has found its way, puzzlingly, into modern parlance. It means “death from overwork.”
The South Korean equivalent is “gwarosa”.
“At night when I am sleeping, my wife sometimes comes very close to me and sees if I am breathing or not,” says Kwon, adding that she is not surprised that there are more people dead from “gwarosa” since the workload it has become unbearable. since the pandemic began.
Jang Duek-jun was only 27 years old when he died last year. His parents are still accepting him.
“Who would believe that a healthy child, who did not smoke or drink, would die of ‘gwarosa’?” asks his father. “All you did was really sleep after work. Get up and go to work. Who would think this could happen to you?”
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On October 12, 2020, her son came home, as he always did, after a night shift at the warehouse of Coupang, the online retailer. He went to take a shower.
Later, his parents found him dead face down in the bathroom.
Jang Deuk-jun’s mother in the columbarium. His son died at the age of 27. He had worked overnight at the online retailer Coupang’s warehouse. (Photo: Lim Yun Suk)
Coupang denied that the young man was overworked. But the state-run Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Services recently said his death was work-related.
FIGHT FOR CHANGE
Government data shows that one to four couriers died each year between 2015 and 2019. But in 2020 nine of them died in the first half of the year alone. Figures for the entire year will be released later this month.
Statistics like these and the growing media coverage of the plight of delivery workers have gained sympathy.
Customers have become more understanding of these exhausted delivery workers. Some have written notes telling workers that it is okay to be late. Others have left drinks outside their doors.
“I think it’s okay for us to wait a few days for products that we don’t urgently need,” an office worker in Seoul told this reporter. “I don’t want the delivery guys to die because of us.”
Union members and relatives of the deceased workers demonstrate in Seoul. (Photo: Lim Yun Suk)
In August, the Labor Ministry urged major logistics companies to hire more people so that deliverymen can get enough rest and to ensure that workers do not have to work continuously at night.
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But Kim Tae-wan, who runs the nationwide delivery workers union, says little has changed.
“Workers are not receiving all the benefits they are supposed to receive. They are not protected by labor law. Many still work in poor and primitive conditions,” he says.
“Workers who sweat and toil should be paid. They should be able to live a happy life with their families.”
