중소기업계 "내년 최저임금 최소한 동결…차등 적용도 필요"

Korea's small and mid-sized companies are calling for a freeze in the minimum wage for next year.
Fifteen associations for small business, including the Korea Federation of SMEs, said today that the double digit minimum wage hikes of the last two years have hurt their businesses because of bigger payroll costs.
They want no wage hike next year, and say that wage policy should take into account the companies' ability to pay and labor productivity by reflecting those differences across industries.
The Korea Federation of SMEs said Korea's minimum wage to income ratio ranks fourth among OECD countries while labor productivity ranks 29th.
Korea's minimum wage is currently about seven U.S. dollars an hour.