The ministry also pointed to new requirements mandating a minimum 11-hour rest period between shifts. However, critics say that the new rule doesn’t take into account commutes, and after-work emails and text messages.
The proposal has sparked a backlash from workers who fear it will give employers legal grounds to encourage gruelling hours on busy weeks.
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“They say that the total hours we work every year will stay the same or come down,” said one 34-year-old worker at a Samsung affiliate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised by their employer to speak publicly.
“But there’s always more work to do. We might now see more overwork-related deaths if there’s a 69-hour workweek.”
Minbyun, a lawyers’ group that has close ties to the opposition, said in a statement this week that the plan doesn’t address problems resulting from a long workweek, even if it caps hours on a quarterly or yearly basis.
The government is overlooking that work-related injuries and deaths “tend to increase when the workweek is not restricted to under 52 hours,” the group said, citing South Korean labor laws that consider medical issues that occur after multiple 60-hour workweeks to be work-related.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol: workers may end up with more freetime.Credit:AP
The government is seeking to submit the plan to parliament for approval by July, according to the semiofficial Yonhap News Agency. But the Democratic Party holds a parliamentary majority, meaning it can block the proposed amendments.
Long work hours have been cited as a major reason that South Korea’s fertility rate is the world’s lowest, at 0.78, while its suicide rate is one of the world’s highest at 24.1 per every 100,000 people, according to the OECD.
The World Health Organisation has linked long working hours to increased risk of stroke and heart disease. “Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard,” a WHO official said in 2021.
For some workers, the proposal rings hollow.
“Working until 9 or 10 pm is normal for me,” said an employee at an LG affiliate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised by their employer to speak publicly.
“The 52-hour thing didn’t prevent me from working longer hours. So when I see headlines mentioning the 69-hour workweek, I can’t relate. I’m working long hours anyway.”
Washington Post