정부 "최저임금 산정에서 약정휴일은 제외...수정안 마련키로"<br /><br />Raising the minimum wage.<br />One of the key policies of the Moon Jae-in administration.<br />Carried out earlier this year, and there are plans for a double digit hike in 2019.<br />But as the move was met with much criticisms, the government announced some relevant revisions to the law.<br />Kim Hyesung outlines what they are. <br /> The South Korean government says it will include weekend work in the calculation of the minimum wage, but exclude contracted holidays from working hours. <br />"The Ministry of Employment and Labor has decided to make revisions to the Minimum Wage Act, and include paid weekend work hours on top of the existing fixed work hours."<br />This announcement comes despite opposition from the private sector who claim the move would make labor costs even more of a burden. <br />The government raised the minimum wage by 16-point-four percent on-year in 2018, and another eleven percent rise is slated for next year. <br />The minimum wage is determined by calculating an hourly rate. <br />Most Korean companies recognize eight hours over the weekend as weekend working hours for employees who work five days a week.<br />To calculate the minimum wage, the monthly wage is divided by the number of working hours to get the actual paid hourly wage.<br />So including the weekend work hours of around 35 hours a month, would mean that the same monthly wage would work out as a lower hourly wage... resulting in some companies failing to meet the figure of 8-thousand-350 Korean won, or seven-point-four U.S. dollars an hour, the minimum wage set for 2019. <br />To alleviate the private sector's concerns, the labor minister said<br />"At the cabinet meeting, we've decided to add revisions to exclude contracted holidays from the minimum wage calculation."<br />Contracted holidays are not legal holidays and refer to holidays such as family events or company foundation day....which are agreed upon by the labor and management in work contracts.<br />The government will also provide a grace period of up to six months so companies can adapt to the changes in the minimum wage.<br />Policymakers said they will finalize the revision and introduce it at the cabinet meeting next Monday. <br />Kim Hyesung, Arirang News. <br />
