[Editorial] Too Many People Living Off ‘Student Jobs’

Part-time jobs for young people used to be thought of as a way for teenagers to earn a little extra spending money or as a way to experience the real world, but a significantly larger number of people are trying to make ends meet that way and that is cause for concern. According to a survey by a private employment finding service, 60 percent of respondents doing part-time jobs said they are in those jobs because they have been unable to find regular ones. In other words, a considerable number of the 2.57 million people who are earning money through jobs of less than 36 hours a week, a number that increased dramatically after the foreign currency crisis of 1997, are working in what they call "student jobs."

That form of employment is becoming a permanent trend and yet still lacks legal protections. There is no minimum wage, and it is an everyday occurrence to have employers take advantage of the fact it is hard for workers to get legal help by underpaying workers their set rate or failing to pay on time. Employers fire people at will even when they have signed contracts, and it is extremely rare for workers to be paid extra for work on holidays and nighttime. There are frequent abuses, such as in the form of verbal violence. Meanwhile legislation that would improve working conditions such as wages, extra allowances, and holidays for people in "student jobs" and other forms of part-time work has been napping in the National Assembly for more than a year.

There is serious unemployment among young people seeking to find their first jobs and start their careers, but the fact that many are in "student jobs" to maintain livelihoods is an even bigger problem. According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), there are more people who have been unemployed for a year or more than there have been since 1999, and 35 percent more people have given up trying to find jobs compared to last year. Those who have given up say they have done so because working conditions such as the pay don't make sense for them.

Unstable employment and the potential for unemployment speaks of how our society continues to lose "jobs that are okay." It should be self-evident that when the quality of available employment decreases, so does labor productivity and corporate competitiveness. It is sad that some people still place priority on cost reduction and efficiency. It is time society as a whole takes an interest in increasing the number of jobs that offer real "work."

The Hankyoreh, 21 November 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection ]