[Interview file] The courier delivered at the risk of death

You might be a little puzzled.

I'm delivering a courier, but I'm worried about my life.

But it's not just excessive exaggeration.

This year, 7 courier drivers all over the country have died.

The dead knights are estimated to be between 31 and 47 years old and overworked, but on-site delivery drivers say that there may be more unknowns.

The courier workers scream, "We are delivering at the risk of death."

In one survey, eight out of ten courier drivers said'I'm trembling with worries that I could be overworked.'

Since when has the courier service, which can be received with a single hand, become a threat to the lives of courier drivers?

Of course, the corona effect is large.

This year, parcel delivery has increased by around 30%.

Both the working hours and the intensity of the courier drivers were counted.

I work an average of 13 to 17 hours per day.

Many courier workers are afraid,'Would I be defeated by this, too?

At the heart of your overworked routine is morning sorting.

At the terminal where logistics are gathered, parcels are divided according to each destination, and courier drivers have to spend 5 to 7 hours a day on this sorting process.

Only after this is done can we start shipping.

The cause of disagreement between courier drivers and companies is also due to the difference in their view of'classification'.

The courier workers claim this work as'free labor' for no cost.

On the other hand, the courier claims that the sorting cost is already included in the shipping fee of between 700 and 800 won per case.

The courier workers say that the claim that the shipping fee includes the sorting fee is fictitious.

In the hub terminal, where major sorting work is already done, there are personnel in charge of sorting work, hired by the management, and they are receiving'classification cost'.

Some fresh food delivery companies, such as Coupang, have already hired dedicated personnel such as sorting assistants.

However, the quantity collected at each regional sub-terminal must be sorted by the courier.

We work with colleagues on a fast-rotating belt to sort out about 1.5 to 2 times the daily shipment.

However, they say that there is no measure of working hours or a method of setting per case.

In simple terms, it is not stated anywhere, but the fee that couriers receive includes the sorting cost, and it is customary, so it is the claim of courier companies to do so.

Because of this situation, some courier workers even hire sorting assistants at their own expense.

The courier workers complain that their request is not that the company unconditionally asks for manpower.

He told the courier several times that he would give as much work as he could handle, and that the drivers would also pay for it if he had any necessary expenses, but he was still silently responding.

The reason why parcel workers and courier companies disagree on the sorting work is due to the ambiguous legal regulations on sorting work.

The parcel delivery industry is subject to the'Cargo Transportation Act', but there is no provision for sorting work anywhere here.

Because of this, there is also a move to create an independent bill for the parcel industry.

This is to clarify that sorting workers and delivery workers are clearly distinguished, and that sorting is not the job of courier workers.

Over 4,000 courier workers decided to withdraw their plan to refuse sorting work for the Chuseok holiday.

The reason is that the government and the parcel delivery industry decided to put in an additional manpower of 10,000 people as a'weak but positive effort'.

For now, we will sort things out as usual, but from the 23rd, when additional personnel are expected to be added, we plan to go to work at 9am, 2 hours later than usual.

However, there are still areas of concern.

The parcel delivery industry has planned to put about 2,000 sorting personnel into the sub-terminal where the'free sorting work' of courier drivers takes place, but the company has put together seven companies (CJ, Lotte, Hanjin, Rosen, Kyungdong, Coupang, and Market Curly). We do not disclose specific manpower input plans.

The courier union is requesting to disclose the recruitment plan of only couriers, excluding those of fresh food companies such as Coupang, which originally had sorting personnel, but the company does not disclose it because it is a trade secret.

An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, "As we have agreed on a big promise to relieve the burden on the courier workers, each courier has promised to provide a meaningful level of replenishment."

It shouldn't be just empty words.

If there is no effort to radically change the site, there is no law that the courier disruption should not happen at any time.

"Sometimes, I ask why I don't even press the doorbell, but it is the feelings of the courier workers that even that one or two seconds are urgent. Lately, I've been receiving protests even after pressing the delivery too late at night. I hope customers will understand that."

He added that this is something that a courier driver I met during the interview process must say.

Couriers that don't have to worry about minutes, couriers that don't have to be received after midnight, and couriers that can be understood even at a later date should become a'practice' to make our minds of ordering or receiving couriers more comfortable.

This Chuseok delivery crisis has been overturned by temporary staffing, but the countermeasures should not stop for a moment in order to prevent subsequent delivery overwork.

* Referred to the <Review of Overworked Parcel Workers Survey Data> of the Courier Worker Overworked Countermeasure Committee.