"Some young Nepali workers telephoned us Wednesday to inform that they are among the 20 who have been informed by their company about the job cut," said Hakim Bhandari from the embassy. "They have asked for help." [break]
The embassy could not contact the company since the Nepali government declared Wednesday as public holiday (to mark Gyallo Lhosar festival). Neither has the contract paper been examined, said the official.
The name of the company about to lay off the Nepali workers was not known immediately.
With South Korea among those countries that has bore the brunt of the global financial crisis, the rate of jobs loss is increasing.
Cuts over pay, overtime bonus
The Ministry of Labor here has said the economic crisis has severely affected Korean companies and employment.
Meanwhile, Bank of Korea said that the Korean currency is on an 11-year low against the US greenback.
The salary and wages of workers is an all-time low since the 1997 global economic meltdown. According to Hanguk Ilb newspaper, many companies have started cutting down on overtime bonus and other facilities. This means the workers now have to contend with just the basic salary.
A conglomerate of big companies here has reached an agreement to cut down the salary of the new recruits. According to Yonhap News Agency 30 such companies – Samsung, Hyundai and LG, among others – have decided to lower the salary by 28 per cent.
The Korean government, fearing massive protest by workers, has not pushed through a bill in parliament allowing for such cuts.
On February 18, the workers warned the government it would not be able to withstand the workers´ protest if they were made the first victims of the global financial crisis.
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