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South, North agree on pay raise for Kaesong workers
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August 04, 2007
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South and North Korea agreed on a 5 percent pay raise for North Korean workers employed by South Korean companies in an industrial complex just north of the border, officials said yesterday. Last month, the North notified South Korea that North Korean workers will refuse to work extra hours or on weekends and holidays starting from August unless they get a 15 percent raise in their basic wages.
In a new deal, North Korean workers working in the Kaesong industrial complex are to earn about $60.37 in basic pay, including insurance, which accounts for 5 percent of the total. This is the first time that North Korean workers have received a pay raise since the complex began operations in late 2004, in spite of such demands being made several times.
Currently, 26 South Korean companies employ about 15,000 North Korean workers in Kaesong, including construction and office workers, at the site developed on a trial basis.
The number of North Korean workers is expected to increase to more than 350,000 when the complex becomes fully operational by 2012. Monthly production in the complex exceeds $10 million. The industrial complex is one of the major cross-border projects.
Yonhap |
