14 Delivery Drivers Died In South Korea As They're Overworked, Some Are Doing 21-Hr Shifts

Deaths of about 14 delivery personnel can be linked to overworking and the resulting exhaustion in South Korea, reports the BBC. The report notes that these drivers are struggling to cope with the increasing volume of online orders ever since the onset of pandemic. These drivers deliver everything from essential items like food to on-essential items like clothes, cosmetic, among others.

Reuters

Delivered 200 packages in 21-hour shift

BBC describes the plight of one such worker, Kim Duk-yeon, 36, who was found dead the day after he had delivered 400 packages in a 21-hour shift.

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, 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 families of the deceased have 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.

One of the drivers who died was 27-year-old Jang Deok-jin, a former Taekwondo enthusiast who had lost 15kg 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.

BBC

Why the pressure?

Delivery drivers across the world are bearing the burden and the cost of the pandemic-induced new normal. The coronavirus has accelerated the love for internet shopping, demand for delivered goods has increased by 10% in South Korea. This year, so far, it has increased by double that. The pressure is particularly acute in South Korea, where home deliveries are expected in hours not days. This leads to long and continuous work hours, overnight shifts and grueling work conditions.

These cases, the report notes, have ¡°won the attention of President Moon Jae-in who called for an overhaul of working conditions for delivery employees¡±.

¡°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,¡± the report adds.

Aljazeera

Workers demand change

Several hundred delivery workers have gone on a strike demanding better pay and conditions. Their rally cry was, "We want to live".

BBC reports, drivers are paid around 800 Korean won per parcel ($0.70, ?0.50), and these days they deliver around 350 packages a day. Most also have to pay for the wages of workers who bring packages down to the floor of the warehouse, and they have to pay penalties if deliveries are late or lost. Not just that, drivers have to sort their own packages from thousands of orders and hundreds of vans before they can even get behind the wheel.

South Korea has reported 26,807 cases and 472 deaths.