‘Freelance’ broadcast workers vulnerable under Labor Law

Almost 96 percent of employees at Seoul Traffic Broadcasting, better known as TBS, are irregular workers, a survey showed Monday.

According to the survey of 469 employees at the public broadcaster run by the Seoul city government, 450, or 95.9 percent, were irregular workers. The remaining 19 were city government officials temporarily posted there for up to two years.

News producers, journalists, newsreaders, cameramen and technical crews were hired under different contracts, with no one guaranteed a regular position.

Of these, 179 who are referred to as “freelancers” face a constant threat of dismissal despite having the same amount and nature of work. The annual pay gap between regular and irregular workers was up to more than 2.1 million won ($1,860).

More than a third, or 36 percent, of respondents said they had never signed an employment contract. Contract workers have their contracts renewed every month, with not one person having as much as a year of employment guaranteed.

Kim Jong-jin, a researcher at the Korea Labor and Society Institute, said such employment contracts require a prompt overhaul to better protect job security for many irregular workers.

“TBS employment contracts show great similarity with a working system implemented by the U.K. or the U.S., which increasingly favor flexibility of the labor market, which is just another way of saying easy layoffs,” Kim said.

The basic rights of workers at broadcasting companies such as KBS and MBC have been neglected thus far, with many of them having to pay state-run health insurance and pension premiums out of their own pocket. Employees hired directly pay only half, with the employer covering the other half.

Kim said Korea should learn from New York City’s “Freelance Isn’t Free Act,” which applies to freelance contracts and agreements. This law, which recently took effect, dictates that all freelance agreements valued over $800 be in writing and requires prompt payment for services.