There's been a strong backlash to the proposed minimum wage hike of almost eleven percent for next year,... especially after an even bigger increase this year.<br />The decision, however, is in line with President Moon Jae-in's election pledge to help the lowest-income earners in the nation.<br />But serious questions are being raised about its effectiveness.<br />According to our Oh Soo-young, both part-timers and small businesses... are reeling from the impact of the minimum wage hike. <br />Twenty-seven year-old Lim Seung-heon has been working part time jobs for the last seven years,... mostly at restaurants and convenience stores.<br />The 16-point-4 percent minimum wage hike this year meant he was taking home an extra 90 dollars a month,... but he says the raise came at a price. <br /><br />"Some employers expect much more from us. More input. Looking more cheerful in front of customers. After the wage hike, my former employer at a convenience store explicitly asked two of us to cover work that four people used to do. I had no choice but to accept the situation while looking for other jobs."<br /><br /> At the same time, Lim says he understands his former employer's concerns.<br />Small businesses owners who mostly rely on part time workers have opposed the government's decision to raise the wage floor by 10-point-nine percent next year.<br />They say it's hard to keep their businesses afloat,... with labor costs expected to rise further throughout President Moon Jae-in's term. <br /><br /> "I don't know what I'm going to do because I can't possibly cut more jobs. I've been taking over my workers' shifts. I work about ten to twelve hours a day now. Fourteen some days. Many of us convenience store owners are barely making as much as our part time employees."<br /><br /> A survey shows 30 percent of convenience store owners have taken on at least five hours of extra shifts a week to keep costs down. Now, four in ten store owners work more than twelve hours a day. <br />Some have decided to simply close their shops early.<br />The trend has caused concern among economists.<br /><br /> "The profits of small businesses, at least 20% have taken a decline in profits and about a 30% decline in general sales. This is mainly because shop owners shortened their working hours so SMEs will be tremendously impacted. I think there will be unemployment for part timers as well."<br /><br />On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon admitted the wage hike would take a toll on small firms, and pledged the government would find "soft landing" solutions.<br />However, he said other factors like high rent and franchise fees are the main reasons for their financial troubles.<br /> Economists and small shop owners have called for government action to tackle these issues,...as well as apply a different minimum wage rate for businesses that employ five workers or less.<br />Oh Soo-young, Arirang News. <br />
