B1 – Intermediate
The fight for better wages continues. In South Korea, workers are fighting for a wage system that pays based on performance and not on tenure.
Read the article then listen to the audio clip. Express your thoughts about the topic.
http://www.newsinlevels.com/products/strike-in-south-korea-level-3/
For additional information on this story, read also:
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “seniority” mean, “More than 40,000 South Korean workers in different industries went on strike as the government said that their pay should be based on their job performance rather than on their position or seniority.”? Use this word in your sentence.
- What does “demand” mean in this sentence, “The workers demand a stop to adopting the legal wage system based on performance which the government is pushing and they say will hurt the people.”? Use it in your sentence.
- What does “dispute” mean, “Workers hope that the protest will achieve their aim and allow the disputes to be resolved soon.” Use it in your sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What do you think of when you hear the word ‘strike’?
- Do you think salaries should be based on performance or seniority?
- Are there a lot of labor strikes and unions your country?
- What are the changes necessary in your current labor system/policies?
- In your country, is the minimum wage enough to live by?
22 replies on “Strike in South Korea”
1. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘strike’?
When I hear the word “strike,” I think of a collective and organized withdrawal of labor by a group of workers as a form of protest or negotiation. Strikes are often used by employees to express grievances, demand better working conditions, or negotiate for improved wages and benefits. They can have significant economic and social implications, affecting both workers and employers.
2. Do you think salaries should be based on performance or seniority?
The choice between performance-based and seniority-based pay depends on the organization’s goals. Performance-based pay can drive results but may create competition and stress. Seniority-based pay rewards loyalty and experience but might not encourage top performance. Many organizations use a mix or consider various factors for a balanced approach.
3. Are there a lot of labor strikes and unions in your country?
To tell you the truth, I don’t have much knowledge about strikes in my country. However, it seems to me that it depends on many other factors such as the recent rise in energy prices or political issues which destabilizes people’s well-being and leads them to go on strikes mainly.
4. What are the changes necessary in your current labor system/policies?
I think that if prices continue rising at the rate at which they are currently rising, an increase in the mínimum wage would be necessary in order to be able to afford this higher cost of living.
5. In your country, is the mínimum wage enough to live by?
In Spain the minimum wage is around 1,200 euros. As for whether or not I think it is enough to live by, I would tell you that it depends on different factors such as whether or not you have children, whether you live in a city where the cost of living is higher or in a small town where the cost of living is lower and so on.
You are able express your ideas well. Keep up the good job.
You can improve this response by using conjunctions to express contrast between these sentences:
Until your next entries!
1. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘strike’?
When I hear the work strike I think that something is not going good in a company, a work sector or in the country in general.
2. Do you think salaries should be based on performance or seniority?
I think salaries should be based in a mix on performance and seniority, but performance should have more weight than seniority.
3. Are there a lot of labor strikes and unions your country?
Nowadays there are not a lot of labor strikes but there are a lot of unions in my country.
4. What are the changes necessary in your current labor system/policies?
I think that in my country instead of labor policies are more necessary fiscal policies to help people and companies to establish a grow up.
5. In your country, is the minimum wage enough to live by?
In my country the minimum wage enough to live by woulb be about €1200 in a small or medium town but it would be very difficult, in a big city it would be impossible.
Good job answering your lesson’s discussion questions.
Here is another way to express this sentence:
Keep going with your writing practice to improve your skills further.
**Discussion Questions:**
1. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘strike’?
There are problems
2. Do you think salaries should be based on performance or seniority?
In my opinion it is a complicated issue because it depends on the work. I mean, if we talk about skilled jobs, maybe wages should be based on seniority because the more seniority you have, the more performance you can have because you have more knowledge. However, if we talk about unskilled jobs it is more difficult to determine it because achieving the best performance may not require so much time but rather skills and desire to do things. So I think it should always be a compromise between the two. They are key in both knowledge and performance.
3. Are there a lot of labor strikes and unions your country?
In my country is a shame. It depends on the government because In my opinion labour strikes depends on the radicals and unions are more known by their meals and expenses in brothels than milestones achieved in favour of the workers
4. What are the changes necessary in your current labor system/policies?
In my opinion they should control more the illegalities committed by some large companies and help more autonomous workers or small companies, However it is usually the opposite.
5. In your country, is the minimum wage enough to live by?
It depends on the city where you live, but in general I think that even if it was enough to live it would be only in the case of being a person with no one in charge as children or dependents. Otherwise I see it as totally impossible.
Well done practicing your writing skills through this exercise.
See how you can write this response better. Note proper punctuations, too.
Keep at it!
What does “seniority” mean, “More than 40,000 South Korean workers in different industries went on strike as the government said that their pay should be based on their job performance rather than on their position or seniority.”? Use this word in your sentence.
Seniority means how long you have been working at a company.
What does “demand” mean in this sentence, “The workers demand a stop to adopting the legal wage system based on performance which the government is pushing and they say will hurt the people.”? Use it in your sentence.
Demand means to force something.
What does “dispute” mean, “Workers hope that the protest will achieve their aim and allow the disputes to be resolved soon.” Use it in your sentence.
Dispute means to debate something.
Discussion Questions:
What do you think of when you hear the word ‘strike’?
When I hear the word ‘strike’ I think of a conflict between workers and their company.
Do you think salaries should be based on performance or seniority?
I think salaries should be based on both. First in performance and then in seniority.
Are there a lot of labor strikes and unions your country?
In my country there are many unions but I think there are not many strikes.
What are the changes necessary in your current labor system/policies?
In my country the work day is eight hours and I think it should be seven hours.
In your country, is the minimum wage enough to live by?
In my country, the minimum wage is one thousand one hundred euros and I think it is little if you live in a big city or if you have got sons.
You are doing well in staying consistent with your practice.
Take a look at where to put comma (,) in the following sentences:
Happy writing!
What do you think of when you hear the word “strike”?
In the need to claim rights for the population or workers
Do you think salaries should be based on performance or seniority?
Yes, I think this too. My salary is based on my performance.
It is true that it is necessary to preserve the rights of older workers in different jobs. For example, a builder is not the same as an information technology worker.
Are there many strikes and unions in your country?
There are two or three large unions here, but normally there are also other unions in all sectors, in health, banking, construction,…
I don’t remember the last big labor strike here in Spain but there are few every year.
What are the changes necessary in your current labor system/policies?
It´s necesary to improve the salaries beacause the prices are growing every day
In your country, is the minimum wage enough to live by?
I think no.
Good job writing your answers to your lesson’s discussion questions.
Take a look at a way revise these sentences:
Until your next entry!
1. I think of fighting in the streets with injured people, police and workers setting fire to rubbish bins.
2.I think the best option is a mix of fixed salary and variable pay (80% vs. 20%).
3. In my country there are not many general strikes. It is possible that in medium-sized companies there are strikes, but it is not the norm.
4.I believe that fixed salaries should be higher so that families with lower incomes can live a quiet and secure life.
5. I think that is enough. In recent years, the government has increased the minimum wage to 60% of the average wage in the country.
Great to see you back to your writing practice. Good going!
See how you can improve this sentence even more with a better word choice:
Job well done!
What do you think of when you hear the word ‘strike’?
It´s a way to defend worker´s rights when things are imposed without dealing with the other part. When people don´t agree with an item it´s a way to express their disagreent.
Do you think salaries should be based on performance or seniority?
From my point of view I think salaries should be based firstly on performance and secondly on seniority. However there are several professions where the seniority as well as experience are essentials items.
Are there a lot of labor strikes and unions your country?
Sometimes, It depends on the working area, mainly in case of construction sector and public workers there are some strikes per year.
What are the changes necessary in your current labor system/policies?
From my point of view working conditions must be reviewed as well as contract conditions and minimun wage. In addition to many other things to improve the labor system.
In your country, is the minimum wage enough to live by?
In many cases it isn´t enough to live on your own. Because of this, the youth have to share expenses and share a house when they get independant.
Good work writing your answers to your lesson’s discussion questions.
Take a look at how this sentence can be written a bit better:
Until your next entry!
I never had heard the word “strike” before, so I didn’t know what it meant. After searching its definition, I think in many persons who are protesting because of an unfair situation that senior officials have imposed.
Nowadays, companies care for workers more and more, but in my opinion, companies will always try to win economically; although the consciousness about the importance of motivation and mental health in work environment is growing, the productivity is still controlled with precision. In my opinion, basing the wages on the productivity should be illegal and sanctioned. Everyone can have bad days when they may underperform at work, and that should not be punished with less salary: we’re talking about a fundamental right of the worker, not about an award. The salaries should be based on the professional experience and functions that will be done at work.
The most of strikes in my country revolve around the elderly’s pensions, as it seems that government want to remove them. I think that many changes are necessary in Laboral system of Spain, especially the minimum wage: in some cities, as Barcelona, the level of life is too high and frequently the wages are not enough to spend the entire month.
It is good to see you trying your hardest to improve.
Here is how you can write this sentence properly:
Keep going with your writing practice.
What do you think of when you hear the word ‘strike’?
I think that is one workers right and therefore one a way to defend them is through a strike
Do you think salaries should be based on performance or seniority?
Without nothing doubt with the performance, the seniority can take into account of course but for me the most important is the performance
Are there a lot of labor strikes and unions your country?
Right now not but with the increase in taxes such as fuel, light etc the people be starting to get very angry
What are the changes necessary in your current labor system/policies?
We have one new labour reform but I think that we need more changes about to youth employment policies, we have in Spain many young people unable to work
In your country, is the minimum wage enough to live by?
In Spain recently it has just risen to 1000 euros but is not enough, with that you could only pay the rent of a house and very normal you can not pay anything else
This is how you can revise this sentence to be able to write it properly:
Until your next entries then!
When I hear the word ‘strike’ I think of ‘claim for rights’.
In Spain is very common both strikes and unions. But not all companies have a union. Normally, most of the time having unions depends on socio-cultural level of the workers. There are a lot of strikes in Spain. Last year there were 14,5 strikes per each 100.000 companies in only one trimester.
I think the current spanish labor law needs to be reviewed, because it only benefits the business owners. Workers receive a miserable compensation when they are fired.
The spanish minimum wage only is enough for a person who lives alone. But it wage does not reach to live if this person has family depending on her/him.
Very informative answers.
Remember this sentence pattern:
S + V + Adv Ph of place/time
Both strikes and unions + are very common + in Spain
Hence, this is how you should write this sentence:
Good job. Just keep on practicing.
1. What word/s come/s to your mind when you hear the word ‘strike’?
Mistake, bite, attack, hit
2. Are labor strikes and unions common in your country?
Yes, overall in the big companies or Hospitals and when government change the labor law against employees rights
3. What things do you think need to be changed in your current labor system/policies?
Nowadays you can be fired with less money than 10 years ago, for me the worst is that you can be fired for nothing if the company decides you are no longer working for them. Although it is true that employees can leave the company at any time. A respectable treatment and a salary according to the cost of living in each country.
4. In your country, is the minimum wage enough to live by?
Well, it depends on how many children you have. The mínimum is 950€ but there are people working for less.
Thank you for sharing about some issues enveloping the labor industry in your country.
Please see how you can make this sentence better:
Keep getting better at writing through practice. Well done.