Hanjin to suspend overnight parcel services amid overwork controversy

All News 15:09 October 26, 2020

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- Hanjin Transportation Co., the logistics arm of Hanjin Group, said Monday it will suspend overnight parcel delivery services starting next month, becoming the first local company to take such action to help prevent overwork among deliverymen.

The move came as one of its delivery workers died earlier this month in a case believed to be traced to a heavy workload, as the new coronavirus outbreak caused a surge in demand for parcel delivery.

Hanjin said it will end overnight delivery services being carried out after 10 p.m. starting Nov. 1 and handle undelivered parcels the next day.

Recently, several parcel delivery workers affiliated with major logistics companies died while on duty, raising the need to ensure safety measures for such workers.

Demand for "fast and predawn" parcel delivery services by some e-commerce operators and retailers surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as more stay-at-home customers resorted to online shopping to avoid infection risks.

But critics said behind the speedy and on-time delivery are delivery people who work under dire labor conditions.

Last week, industry leader CJ Logistics Corp. unveiled a set of measures to prevent delivery workers from dying while on duty.

CJ Logistics plans to hire about 4,000 separate workers for the job classifying parcels at logistics centers and to set daily permissible volumes for delivery.