Courier drivers who say ‘early morning delivery should not be banned’ “an unreasonable claim that ignores reality”… Coupang labor union: “Retaliation from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions”
Dong-Hoon Han: “A plan to protect the right to health must be prepared, but what authority does the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions have to infringe on the freedom to choose a job?”
Hyeyoung Jang, “Freedom to choose a job should not include choosing a workplace where you risk death.”
The National Courier Workers’ Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) recently launched the ‘Courier Social Dialogue Organization’ launched under the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, and argued that delivery during late-night hours (early morning) from midnight to 5 p.m. should be banned, sparking strong controversy over this. The position that the ban on early morning delivery is an inevitable measure for the health rights of courier workers, including preventing death from overwork, and the other position that it infringes on the career options of workers who want to work in early morning delivery and the convenience of consumers who have no choice but to use early morning delivery, are tightly contested. In particular, Coupang’s delivery driver union is opposing the ban on early-morning delivery, criticizing the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ plan to limit early-morning delivery, saying, “It appears to be retaliation for the Coupang union’s withdrawal from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.” Kim Dong-myeong, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (KCTU), also said, “I do not agree with the complete ban on early-morning delivery. This is a task that needs to be improved step by step,” leading to conflict between labor and union.
A courier company representative is sorting items at a logistics complex. Yonhap News
◆Courier union: “Workers’ right to sleep and health must be guaranteed at a minimum.”
According to the labor community and the National Assembly on the 8th, the courier social dialogue organization was established to improve the working conditions of courier workers and improve problems of industrial accidents such as death from overwork. At this organization held on the 22nd of last month, the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) courier union proposed the introduction of a two-week shift system in which employees start work at 5 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, along with a ‘delivery restriction between midnight and 5 a.m.’ to ensure minimum workers’ sleep time and health rights. However, controversy spread as it was read as a ‘complete ban on early morning delivery.’ Early morning delivery, which was introduced about 10 years ago, is a service that delivers goods, such as food, directly to the door the next morning when a customer orders them, and has become deeply entrenched in people’s daily lives.
As controversy arose and criticism abounded, the courier union emphasized on the 30th of last month, “We want to guarantee the minimum amount of sleep time and health rights for courier workers by limiting delivery work during the most dangerous times. Early morning delivery until 12 p.m. (midnight) and delivery after 5 a.m. will continue. In particular, for urgent items that must be received early in the morning, it is fully possible to receive them as before through pre-setting.”
A series of studies have shown that long working hours and night work increase the incidence of brain and cardiovascular diseases, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Health Organization (WHO) are recommending health protection measures for night workers. The report ‘Research on measures to prevent industrial accidents for special types of workers due to early morning work’ conducted by the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service last year also included problems caused by night work. Looking at the status of industrial accidents among delivery drivers over the five years from 2019 to 2023, the number of night-time accidents, which was 10.1% in 2019, nearly doubled to 19.6% in 2023. In a survey of early morning delivery drivers, 30.3% responded that their health status was ‘good’, which was significantly lower than the average Korean adult (47.6%).
The courier union said, “Night work destroys biological rhythms and causes serious health problems such as sleep disorders, cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression, and suicidal impulses,” adding, “The domestic and international standards for night work are ‘not to exceed 2 to 3 days in a row,’ but Coupang’s work continues for 5 to 6 days at a time,” and took particular aim at Coupang, the largest early morning delivery company in Korea.
Coupang delivery trucks gathered in a parking lot in downtown Seoul. Yonhap News
◆ Coupang union, etc. “Unreasonable claims that ignore reality… Retaliation from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions”
However, there is considerable opposition even among the Coupang labor union and the courier drivers involved. As a result of an emergency survey conducted on 2,405 people by the Coupang Partners Association (CPA), which includes about 10,000 Coupang consignment delivery drivers, on the 3rd, about 93% of respondents opposed the ban on early morning delivery. Meanwhile, the advantages of early morning delivery included △convenience of delivery such as smooth transportation and convenient use of elevators, △high income, and △utilization of personal time.
In a statement, the CPA raised its voice, saying, “They are trying to virtually fire early morning delivery couriers, claiming that the dismissal of workers is murder. The ban on early morning delivery is a declaration of deprivation of the livelihood of night drivers and an act of self-harm in the delivery industry. This is an unreasonable claim by some who do not even know the reality of early morning delivery.” CPA also pointed out, “(as claimed by the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions’ courier union), they ignored the basic reality that if delivery starts at 5 a.m., cars will be clogged during rush hour and elevators will be full of children going to school and residents going to work, making delivery impossible.”
The Coupang union, which is made up of full-time delivery drivers, also refuted the courier union’s claim, saying, “Early morning delivery has now become an indispensable service in people’s lives and is one of the core competitivenesses of Coupang Logistics, which is the lifeblood of Coupang Logistics. However, to ignore this reality and ban early morning delivery simply by claiming to reduce night work is an action that shakes the foundation of the delivery industry.”
Kim Dong-myeong, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, also said when asked about early morning delivery at a press conference on the 5th, “I do not agree with the total ban on early morning delivery. In reality, there are workers who have to work to make a living, and there is also a class of consumers who absolutely need early morning delivery.”
However, Chairman Kim said, “I don’t think it is easy for such issues to be raised,” and added, “I think the current unreasonable working hours should be relaxed.” The idea is to make gradual improvements in the middle ground, such as social needs for early morning delivery, while ensuring workers’ health rights as much as possible.
Kim Dong-myeong, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, is holding a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall in Yeouido, Seoul on the 5th to call for legislation to extend the legal retirement age within the year. News 1
Experts are also skeptical about the effectiveness of a complete ban.
Dong-yeol Yoon, a professor of business administration at Konkuk University, said, “Some workers only work in early morning delivery or night logistics, and they will move to other night jobs rather than day jobs. Although night work is likely to have a negative impact on health, no country has actually banned it completely.” In the CPA survey, 95% of respondents answered, “I will continue late-night delivery,” and 70% of them said, “If night-time delivery is regulated, I will look for another night-time job.”
The Coupang labor union eventually suspected that the reason behind the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ ban on early morning delivery was “retaliation for the withdrawal from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.” In a statement on the 7th, the Coupang union argued, “It makes no sense for the labor union to claim that it is taking away its members’ jobs. The fact that only the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions sticks to this in a situation where the majority of night delivery drivers are opposed to it seems to mean that it does not matter what happens to the rest because the ratio of night delivery drivers in their union is extremely low.” Previously, the Coupang labor union withdrew from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in 2023 with 93% of its members in favor, saying it would focus on practical activities for its members rather than political activities.
◆Han Dong-hoon VS Jang Hye-young, argument over ‘restrictions on early morning delivery’
While the issue of ‘restrictions on early morning delivery’ raised by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has become a hot topic in the political world, former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and former Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-young appeared on CBS Radio’s ‘Park Jae-hong’s Bout’ on the 3rd and held an open discussion.
Former lawmaker Jang defended the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ proposal as reasonable. He said, “Early morning delivery means ordering delivery tonight and receiving it before 7 a.m. tomorrow, but if early morning delivery is banned, people think they will no longer be able to receive that service. But that is not the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ plan.” Former lawmaker Jang said, “Early morning delivery should be maintained as much as possible from the consumers’ perspective as it is now, but instead, this is a very moderate and reasonable plan to ensure that delivery workers can maintain it even if they do not work between 00:00 and 5:00,” adding, “It is not a plan to disappear the service, but to eliminate overwork.”
On the other hand, former CEO Han said, “There is a distortion there. If the delivery drivers do not deliver between midnight and 5 o’clock, they cannot receive it at dawn. How can they come to work at 5 o’clock and deliver by 7 o’clock? That is impossible,” and refuted, “Early morning delivery does not depart at dawn, but is received at dawn.” He said, “Due to the rhythm of the human body, there is a high possibility that working at night will further harm your health. The problem is that you made the choice knowing all this. Currently, there are many people who do such work at night when moving around Korea.” He continued, “I 100% agree with creating a plan to protect the right to health if one chooses to do so (voluntarily), but if this job itself is eliminated, consumers and all parties involved want to do it, so why can the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions say, ‘This is a problem for your health, so it must be eliminated.’ What authority does the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions have to say that this is not essential?”
In response, former lawmaker Jang responded, “First of all, I would like to say once again that this is not a plan to eliminate early morning delivery. Of course, there is freedom to choose a job, but does that include choosing a workplace where you risk death? I don’t think that is the case.”
An official is moving goods at a delivery agency. Yonhap News
◆The Ministry of Labor is also at a loss as to what to do
The Ministry of Employment and Labor, the responsible ministry, is also in trouble. An official from the Ministry of Labor said, “Early morning delivery has already become widespread among the public, including ‘working mothers,’ and self-employed people who work late are using early morning delivery to open their businesses the next day.” He added, “The adverse effect of a complete ban is too great. It is not an easy problem.” In 2020, during the Moon Jae-in administration, the issue of deaths from overwork related to late-night delivery was raised, but due to various interests, it was limited to a ‘recommendation of restriction’ rather than a ban. Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon also responded during the National Assembly’s audit last month, saying, “We haven’t discussed it within the ministry yet, but if you ask for my opinion, I think it should be carefully reviewed.” He added, “The consumer’s perspective must also be taken into consideration and various conditions must be considered together.” However, Minister Kim said, “The most important thing is how to regulate night work, and we are considering a plan to force 13 hours of rest between night work, or at least 11 hours.” Just as the current Labor Standards Act requires 11 hours of continuous rest between working days in the transportation, health care, and other transportation-related service industries, this can be interpreted as saying that by adding early morning delivery work, the ’11 consecutive hours of rest’ rule may also be applied to early morning delivery drivers.
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