Migrant worker rights organizations have urged the government to implement robust measures to address the persistent issue of unpaid wages. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Mar. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – Migrant worker rights organizations have urged the government to implement robust measures to address the persistent issue of unpaid wages, citing data obtained from the Ministry of Employment and Labor that revealed unpaid salaries for migrant workers reached a staggering 121.5 billion won in 2022.
In a joint statement released on Saturday, a number of civic groups collectively known as the Migrant Workers’ Equality Coalition highlighted the alarming trend of rapidly increasing unpaid wages over the past five years.
“The reported amounts of unpaid wages for migrant workers, which stood at 78 billion won in 2017 and 97 billion won in 2018, have surged in recent years, exceeding an average of 120 billion won annually,” the coalition stated.
According to the “Status of Unpaid Wages for Domestic and Foreign Workers” data provided by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to the coalition through a freedom of information request, the total number of workers who reported unpaid wages was 275,432, of which 27,155 (9.86%) were foreign workers.
Citing data from Statistics Korea, the groups noted that while migrant workers account for 4.2% (923,000 as of May 2023) of the total 21,954,000 employed workers (as of August 2023), they were twice as likely to experience unpaid wages compared to domestic workers.
The coalition pointed out that employers often exploit migrant workers’ unfamiliarity with the language and legal systems, assuming they will be hesitant to raise concerns. “Employers withhold overtime pay or annual leave allowances, manipulate work hour records, and extend contractual break times as means to engage in wage theft,” the statement alleged.
The coalition emphasized the urgent need for the government to implement comprehensive countermeasures to eradicate this exploitative practice and protect the rights of migrant workers in the country.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
