Gyeonggi Province's Living Wage Set at 11,141 Won for Next Year...5.7% Increase from This Year

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province announced that it has confirmed the '2022 Living Wage' at 11,141 won, a 5.7% increase from this year, and will issue an official notice as of September 10.

This is 5.7% higher than this year's Gyeonggi Province living wage of 10,540 won, representing an increase of approximately 125,000 won on a monthly salary basis compared to last year (2,202,860 won → 2,328,469 won). It is also 1,981 won higher than the 2022 minimum wage of 9,160 won per hour (121.6% level).

In particular, the province, starting from 6,810 won in 2015 when the living wage system was first implemented, increased Gyeonggi Province's living wage by approximately 12% or more from 2016 onward to achieve the 10,000 won target.

After achieving the 10,000 won target in 2019, this time marks the highest increase rate (5.7%), with next year being the first time to exceed 11,000 won.

This living wage was finalized as Gyeonggi Province policy through vigorous discussions including the Gyeonggi Research Institute's short-term policy research on 2022 living wage calculation, expert forums for rational living wage calculation, and deliberations by the Gyeonggi Province Living Wage Committee.

Specifically, considering the minimum wage, public institution wage guidelines, and international organization wage guidelines, the living wage was determined by reflecting additional economic indicators expected for next year within the range of 10,813 won to 11,141 won, which incorporates the 'Standard for 2022 Living Wage Calculation' presented by the Gyeonggi Research Institute, including relative poverty lines, housing costs, education costs, communication costs, and transportation costs. The final determination was made after comprehensively considering expert opinions and the difficult economic conditions of workers affected by COVID-19.

The living wage announced this time will be applied from January 1 of next year. The applicable targets are direct workers of the province and its affiliated and invested institutions, as well as indirect contract workers of the province.

Approximately 1,700 workers are expected to benefit from the living wage, which is anticipated to contribute to their economic stability.

Kim Jong-gu, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Department of Labor, stated, "I hope that next year's living wage, determined after hearing opinions from various labor field experts, will help improve the actual quality of life for workers even in the difficult economic situation caused by COVID-19," and added, "We will make efforts to expand the living wage system not only in the public sector but also in the private sector."

'Living Wage' refers to a wage that considers the minimum wage and other factors to enable workers to support their families and maintain human dignity in various fields such as education and culture while leading substantive lives. Since 2014, Gyeonggi Province was the first metropolitan local government to enact living wage ordinances and has been working to establish and expand the living wage system.

The province has been implementing the Gyeonggi Province Living Wage Pledge System since 2017 to promote private sector expansion of the living wage, and since 2019, has amended the detailed standards for general service qualification assessment of Gyeonggi Province to grant points to companies participating in public contracts that pay the living wage.