Next year`s minimum wage to rise 2.75 percent

SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- A tripartite committee consisting of labor, management
and government representatives decided on Tuesday to raise the country's minimum
wage by 2.75 percent next year, the lowest increase in over 10 years.
The Minimum Wage Council said representatives of the three parties reached an
agreement to raise the minimum wage to 4,110 won (US$3.21) from the current 4,000
won, after a marathon overnight negotiation session that lasted until early
Tuesday morning.
The proposed increase marks the smallest percentage hike since 1998, when the
council agreed on a 2.7 percent raise in the wake of the Asian financial crisis.
The council, together with the government, will finalize the plan in early August
after submitting a formal proposal to the labor minister next month.
Some 2.56 million workers are expected to be subject to the change.
Councilors representing management called for a 5.8 percent reduction in the
minimum wage, while those representing workers demanded a 28.7 percent hike. Both
sides managed to reach a compromise by revising their demands over 10 times.
Management representatives had built their case by arguing that small businesses
were being burdened by slumping profitability. Councilors representing workers
noted inflationary pressure was putting a damper on people's livelihoods.
"We've reached a dramatic breakthrough as the two sides submitted over 13
different revisions (of their proposals). We hope that the workers and the
management can come together to overcome the economic crisis," Moon Hyung-nam,
head of the council, said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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