MigrantWorkers Center :: View topic - S. Korea's rate of low-wage workers highest in OECD

SEOUL, July 26 (Yonhap) -- One in four full-time workers in South Korea is a low-wage worker, the highest ratio among member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a report said Thursday.

   According to the OECD's annual report on employment outlook, South Korea's "incidence of low pay" stood at 25.9 percent as of 2010, 0.2 percentage points higher than a year earlier.

   It marked the second consecutive time that the country has topped the list among the 34 members of the rich nations' club.

   Low-wage workers are full-time employees who earn less than two thirds of the median wage.

   The average rate of low-paid workers among OECD members was 16.3 percent in the same period, 9.6 percentage points lower than that of South Korea, the report noted. Belgium, Finland, and Portugal recorded one of the lowest rates with just 4 percent, 8.1 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively.

   Low state-determined minimum salary level and the practice of employers paying less than the minimum wage are reflected in the high and rising incidence of low-paid employment in the country.

   The country's relative minimum-wage level in 2010 was only 33 percent of the average salary, which is 4 percent lower than that of the OECD average of 37 percent, indicating that the country needs to lift the state-determined minimum salary level.

   Also, almost one in 10 employers in 2011 offered pay lower than the state-determined minimum salary to their employees, according to data by the country's labor ministry, obstructing efforts to address income and wealth inequality.

   khj@yna.co.kr
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