Students often have part-time jobs to pay for tuition, rent for room, or to earn pocket money. As a part-time job is an essential element for university students, there will be many students who are interested in the issue of raising the minimum wage. Originally, raising the minimum wage had the meaning of a welfare policy that raised income distribution and economic level while raising the income of the low-income group, part-timers, or short-term workers. On August 5th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor confirmed the minimum wage for 2022 at 9,160 won. It will rise 5.1 percent from this year’s minimum wage of 8,760 won. The workers may just feel that it is good, but it is an important issue in society that cannot simply be liked.
As an advantage of raising the minimum wage, the quality of life will be improved because wages that match the price of work can be guaranteed, and wage gap can be reduced. In addition, productivity improves as efficiency increases and turnover decreases. If people receive more money, consumption will increase than before, which could lead to better income for the self-employed. Therefore, the economic polarization of our society can also be reduced.
However, the disadvantage of raising the minimum wage is that employers have no choice but to respond by reducing employment, shortening working hours, increasing prices, and strengthening intensity of labor since labor costs are burdensome for employers. Even in job advertisements, hourly wages are not written down, or when asked if the minimum hourly wage is applied, there are frequent employers who avoid answering, which can deepen conflicts between workers and employers. Raising the minimum wage will not be good for workers who are affected by such actions by employers.
Raising the minimum wage is an inevitable trend of the times. Individual jobs may be damaged right now, but from the point of view in our society, it can lead to the demand for automated facilities or unmanned stores, which can speed up the growth of the industry. Through this, it will be possible to lay the foundation for rapid development from a labor-intensive industry to a high-tech industry.
Although the government said it will provide support in this regard, it is still unclear whether many small businesses and the self-employed will benefit from the support or not. In addition, the government should provide more detailed implementation direction to prevent the occurrence of vicious employers receiving government support and only harming part-timers. Raising the minimum wage can be a double-edged sword. We all need to discuss together whether raising the minimum wage will serve as a welfare policy that raises the minimum level of economy, or if it will have an adverse effect that puts a burden on the employers and unemployment on the workers, contrary to the purpose.