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'I thought maybe I would die': S Korea's delivery drivers demand change

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'I thought maybe I would die': S Korea's delivery drivers demand change Empty 'I thought maybe I would die': S Korea's delivery drivers demand change

Bài gửi by lily9889 Tue Nov 03, 2020 3:29 pm

'I thought maybe I would die': S Korea's delivery drivers demand change

'I thought maybe I would die': S Korea's delivery drivers demand change _115174757_lee01131

It was an hour before sunrise, 21 hours into a shift, and Mr Kim had delivered more than 400 packages. The 36-year-old
delivery driver had been working since 5am the previous day. He messaged a colleague, pleading to skip a round of parcel
deliveries.

"It's too much," he wrote. "I just can't."

Four days later, Mr Kim was dead. He is one of 14 workers in South Korea who union officials say died because of overwork -
most of them delivery drivers.

The fates of the 14 drivers can not be directly linked to overwork, but their families described the causes of death as "kwarosa" -
a Korean term used for sudden death due to heart failure or a stroke as a result of extreme hard work. Drivers in South Korea
are struggling to cope with the sheer volume of online orders during the Covid-19 pandemic. As the packages have piled up,
so has the pressure.

One of the drivers who died was 27-year-old Jang Deok-jin, a former Taekwondo enthusiast who had lost 15kg (33lbs) after
doing 18 months of night shifts, according to his family. Deok-jin came home from a night shift earlier this month at around
six in the morning and headed for a shower. His father found him dead face down in the bathtub an hour later.

"We loved that boy. When he said it was such hard work we told him it was ok to stop working, but he used to tell me that
he had plans for his future," his father said. "I am to blame for not discouraging him from working so hard and exploiting
himself."

Mr Jang's anger took him to South Korea's National Assembly. In grief he fell to his knees and begged congressmen to look
at the circumstances surrounding his son's death.

"It is my son who died," he said. "I am going to let the whole world know about it. I am going to get to the bottom of it."

Deok-jin's case, along with others, won the attention of President Moon Jae-in, who called for an overhaul of working
conditions for delivery employees, saying they had suffered some of the worst hardships under the pandemic.

The pressure is particularly acute in South Korea, where home deliveries are expected in hours not days.

'I thought maybe I would die': S Korea's delivery drivers demand change _115175497_lee01187

'We want to live'
In August, South Korea's labour ministry stepped in and urged the country's major logistics companies to sign a declaration
to ensure drivers got enough rest and did not have to work continuous overnight shifts. Three of the biggest firms,
CJ Logistics, Coupang and Hanjin Transportation, all made public apologies over the deaths of workers.

CJ Logistics said it would add more drivers and ensure all couriers were signed up for industrial accident insurance.
Coupang said it was hiring more people while admitting the step was "not enough". Hanjin Transportation pledged to reduce
the workload for its staff.

But most contracts signed by the workers are with independent agents who act as middlemen, rather than with the company
itself, leaving them outside the protection of labour law. Union leaders also said they had yet to see the promised increase
in manpower at most depots.

Around the developed world, delivery drivers are bearing the burden and the cost of the pandemic-induced new normal.
The coronavirus has accelerated our love of internet shopping - each year, demand for delivered goods has increased
by 10% in South Korea. This year, so far, it has increased by double that. No human interaction is needed when shopping
online, but there are humans involved in the transaction.

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lily9889

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