Nepal

1.5 million migrant workers including Nepalis in South Korea deprived of salary

1.5 million migrant workers including Nepalis in South Korea deprived of salary

By Rastriya Samachar Samiti

People wearing masks line up to buy face masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus outside a department store in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Photo: AP

SEOUL: More than 1.5 million migrant workers in South Korea have been deprived of salary that was mentioned in the contract they have reached with the employers beforehand, according to data of South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor.

There are approximately 50,000 Nepali migrant workers in the country. The amounts to be paid to the migrant workers from various countries in the world in salary reached 7.17 trillion South Korean Won between 2016 and 2019. Likewise, the amounts to be paid to the workers in salary hit 890 billion SKW in eight months. Most of the workers deprived of salaries have been engaged in production companies. The main reason for the workers being deprived of salaries is the effects on the world economy due to global COVID-19 pandemic. Legal experts have suggested that the government of the respective countries should provide financial assistance to the companies facing an economic crisis due to the infection.So the workers would get their regular salaries. A party in South Korea suggested that those companies denying salaries to the workers should be fined.