[CARD NEWS] A conglomerate which cheated part-timers out of $7 million
Am I working or in the army?
- A, (27), who resigned after a year of working
When the chairman comes, the employees and part-time workers stay up the whole night, until 3 or 4 a.m., to clean up the restaurant.
2) “When the cleaning gets done around four in the morning, some workers spent the rest of few hours until the next day’s work begins at the 24-hour McDonalds.”
- B (25), who resigned after a five years of working
When ‘the overnight cleanup’ is conducted, the workers had to sleep on boxes they laid on the store floor or had to spend time in 24-7 shops.”
3) Night shift wage or overtime wage, which should be guaranteed following such an overnight cleanup, was never given to the workers.
4) The story above is just one example out of the 360 restaurants affiliated with the E-Land Group, whose labor law violations were revealed on Dec 19.
5) “Being on stand-by 10 minutes before your shift” was considered basic protocol in those restaurants.
6) The part-time workers deserved to get paid for the stand-by time, but they never received anything.
7) Their daily working log recorded that they worked until 10 P.M., even if they worked over that time by 14 minutes.
The company recording working hours in fifteen-minute units, which meant workers wouldn’t get their full pay.
8) “I was let go early when the restaurant was not busy.”
The part-time workers were allowed to leave earlier than usual when there was not much work to do. The wages after work must be paid in such cases, but the company didn’t pay up.
9) Criticisms poured on the ugly reality of management, which exploits the wage of part-time workers.
10) “We receive lots of pressure from the head office regarding personnel expenditures. Each restaurant’s performance records are evaluated based on the wage expenses.” – A (27)
But the restaurant managers who were interviewed said they “had no other choice,” because the company’s pressure over labor costs influenced the promotion of employees.
11) “When I was a contract worker, I endured in the belief that I would turn into a permanent worker of a conglomerate soon, as the employment market has been tough recently.”
One of the interviewed store managers frankly spoke his mind that regular employees, as well as the part-time workers, were also in difficult situations.
12) “The regular employees do not let the part-time workers stay late on purpose. While the part-time workers let get off early as possible, the rest of the employees – especially the newly recruited employees – finish the chores. They stay up until around one or two in the morning to paint the walls, report to the group chat room, and they finally go home, taking the night bus after 30 minutes of walking to the bus station.”
13) “I was not paid overtime for the overnight cleanup or extra work.”
“Field workers are generally insufficient. Even though my position was hall manager, I sometimes helped the workers in the kitchen and I skipped lunch almost every day.”
Not only part-time workers but also regular employees are left behind in the labor law’s dead zone.
14) “The reality has come to light a little, but much more should be revealed to fix this.”
- B, a former worker
The former workers for E-Land restaurants didn’t show any surprising reactions, but said that the recent revelations were only a matter of time.
15) “E-Land is a company only for the chairman, who takes overnight cleanup for granted. However, I resigned, as I was disappointed in a company which doesn’t respect the people that do all the work.”
An employee said that he was very dismayed by the poor manner in which the company treated people.
16) All of the part-time workers and the employees said in a one voice that all aspects of the problem must be revealed to change their ugly reality.
17) 8.372 billion won ($7 million) in total overdue wages / 2.8 million won in fines
The fine imposed on E-Land is tiny compared to the total unpaid wages.
18) “I wish I could get paid as much as I worked.”
“The more you work, the more you get paid.”
What young people want is nothing big. They just want their employers to follow this basic principle.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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