A delivery worker sorts through items that need to be delivered at a logistics center in Seoul on Aug. 13, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Most parcel delivery personnel are working under poor labor conditions, in which they have to work six days a week, a major umbrella labor group said Thursday.
The Federation of Korean Trade Unions conducted a survey on the labor environment of 210 delivery service workers who are affiliated with the labor group, which showed that 204 of them worked six days a week.
During holiday seasons, they typically have to work seven days per week.
Among the parcel delivery workers, 41.9 percent spent less than 30 minutes each day on break during working hours.
Another 35.2 percent spent between 1 hour and 1 hour and 30 minutes on break while 20.5 percent spent 30 minutes to 1 hour each day.
At 45.2 percent, close to half of the workers surveyed said they delivered more than 300 boxes each day.
Parcel delivery personnel are often susceptible to health issues related to muscles and bones since they have to carry heavy parcels.
Close to 3.4 billion parcels were delivered in South Korea in 2020, up more than 20 percent from 2019.
Each South Korean received an average of 65.1 delivery parcels in 2020.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
