Courier health vs. consumer convenience at center of midnight delivery dispute

In Korea, where delivery apps have become indispensable, nighttime service are now a routine part of everyday life. Just a click in the evening can bring groceries or other daily items to your doorstep early in the morning. Behind this convenient lifestyle are delivery people who work at night. Concern over increasing health risks and worsening labor conditions from their long overnight shifts has led a courier union to propose restricting deliveries between midnight and 5 a.m. The move has reignited debate over how to balance couriers’ health with their right to work overnight, and with consumer expectations for near-instant delivery. The proposal came from the couriers' union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the country’s two major umbrella labor groups, at last month’s meeting of the courier social dialogue council — a forum launched in September by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea to address labor conditions in the delivery industry. This council had previously met twice in 2021, when parcel volumes surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and overWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times