[vol.20] [Action center for women's unemployment ] Evaluation and policy proposals on the first anniversary of the ACWU
WORKING WOMAN 2008. 3. 21. 11:20Action center for Women's Unemployment
Evaluation and policy proposals
on the first anniversary of the ACWU
Soon Im Choi
Counselor of ACWU
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1. Prologue Since the Korean economy has come through the IMF Relief Fund period, society has faced a phase of great unemployment. There have been lots of clients talking about delays in payment and dismissals in the process of restructuring. In spite of the seriousness of the women workers' unemployment problem, it has failed to be exposed to the public due to the general unemployment problem. The government has not proposed any countermeasures to the problem of female workers' unemployment. Therefore the KWWAU established the "Action Center for Female Unemployment (ACWU)" on June 9, 1998 in collaboration with local WWAs in order to expose the seriousness of the female unemployment problem in society and to urge the government to provide proper countermeasure plans. For the past year, the ACWU has conducted and provided various activities and projects: counseling, education, assistance for daily life, medical care aid, organizing works, policy making works, research and studies, organizing rallies, campaigning, etc. These various activities and projects have had the following outcomes: 1) They have increased awareness in society of the female unemployment problem; 2) They have strengthened governmental countermeasures through making resolutions on the women' unemployment problem and urging for proper countermeasures, 3) They have provided practical help to unemployed women through counseling and assistance. 2. Main activities The ACWU has conducted various activities. We are going to expand counseling, education, assistance for daily life, medical care aid, organizing works, policy making works, research and studies, organizing rallies, and campaigning. Counseling can be divided into individual counseling and group counseling. The counselors try to help clients who are in counseling to gain work and obtain recruitment information. They also try to prevent women being exploited in the process of gaining a job, and deal with ordinary problems in daily life. In addition, they also try to prepare information of use to the clients. There has been good feedback from the clients. In terms of group counseling, we conducted sessions with two groups of single women and with married women. Through group counseling the clients met women in similar situations and could better understand themselves. The counseling was implemented through the sharing of their difficulties and helped them to realize that unemployment is no longer an individual problem but a social one, and encouraged them to develop the will to get through the difficulties of unemployment. From June of 1998 to July of 1999, 7,903 clients were counseled at central and local headquarters. Aside from the counseling, we also gave assistance in daily life to unemployed female family heads. In October 1998, we conducted a program called "How female family heads can survive winter". From March 1999 we have fought a "National campaign to help unemployed family heads". Central and local headquarters provided gift certificates and cash worth of W150,000 for 1,872 women. The Inchon WWA opened a Rest Room for unemployed women and the Pusan WWA opened a Study Room for the children of unemployed women in addition to a Rest Room. The assisting daily life program has given practical help to the unemployed women family heads who are struggling day-to-day. Through these activities directed towards unemployed women family heads, we can confirm that the most difficult problem for the female family heads comes not from the unemployment problem but from structural poverty. A systematic response to overcome the chronic poverty problems suffered by unemployed female family heads is urgently needed. In order to provide medical care for the unemployed women who need to see a doctor, we issued a 'Medical Check Card' which can be used to obtain special discounts for medical care for unemployed female family heads and their family members. The central and four local headquarters at Pusan, Seoul, Inchon, and Puchon conducted medical check-ups for free. It was a good way for unemployed female family heads to take care of their health. As a result of these various activities for unemployed female family heads, the central and eight local headquarters formed a 'Mutual Aid Women's Association', which was composed of female family heads. At the moment, the Mutual Aid Women's Association has the participation of about a thousand women. The association provides various programs: necessary lectures, group counseling, provision of useful information, etc. The members of the association are not just receptors of help but they live in the light of community consciousness. Education has been carried out through the "Job Seekers' Meeting Day". Normally practical education is provided through group counseling on the meeting day. About three thousand women participated in the counseling, conducted in the central and six local headquarters. A 'Lecture on how unemployed women can get a job' has been organized every month. The lecture includes discussion of the present situation of female unemployment, the necessity of a good attitude in overcoming unemployment, the formation of a network in gaining a job, making plans for one's own occupation, practice of the face-to-face test, and so on - primarily practical topics. These lectures were organized 60 times in total and about two thousand women took part. The lectures encouraged demoralized unemployed women to plan better for their futures. 'Training for counselors' was conducted in the form of professional training for psychological counselors, a retraining course for the counselors, and training for fostering counselors. It contributed a lot to increasing the counselors' work capacity. The trained counselors were sent to every local branch to work as a professional counselor for unemployed women, to whom they gave very practical help. In addition, there has been other general training, for unemployed women and for the volunteers. We also should talk about the technical training course. There have been technical training courses held for unemployed female family heads to regain work, and retraining courses for unemployed women. These training courses provided a chance for the unemployed female family heads to attend the technical training course and obtain some training allowances which could be used for very basic living costs.
->Training for counselors (1999. 4. 19-20) These people were alienated from society and forgotten about for a long time but there they could be with people in a similar situation with whom they could share their problems. As a result of the training, Puchon WWA has formed a group of general assistant workers. The members of the group have been serving in their residential town office as volunteers helping children learn how to express their own opinions in writing. As a self-support project, Seoul WWA has run two needle work stores where about 25 women share work. The needle work stores have created work for unemployed women. This has been of practical help for unemployed women. The needle work stores have been a good model of a countermeasure business for unemployed women. The Puchon WWA has run a general assistants' business. The business has been carried out by the participants of the training program for the general assistants. The trainees themselves provided flyers propagandizing general assistants and they visited every house and store. A good number of patients' families have contacted them for long-term help. And the needed contacts are increasing. As a job-creation project, 'Guidance in the daily life of low-income children after school' has been conducted as a part of Public Labor Service Program. The Korea Women Associations United (KWAU) has been conducted in collaboration with six WWAs in Seoul, Inchon, Ansan, Kwangju, Puchon, and Pusan. All together 278 facilities have hired 368 tutors. The project has contributed a lot to study room activities and creating jobs for highly-educated unemployed women. However, there are no further activities after completing the public labor service period. The Puchon WWA has sent assistant teachers to undernourished children's facilities. |
At the time when the Action Center for Unemployed Women was set up, those who worked in workplaces in which employees were not eligible for employment insurance, in poor workplaces, unemployed women who were dismissed from irregular work positions, and those who were newly-arrived on the labor market, were not seeking new jobs through public job arrangement agencies. Therefore they were not included in the statistics on the unemployed women. At the time the ACWU was established, it launched a movement of job-seekers registration. The movement has helped publicize the problem of female unemployment. The movement succeeded in exposing the fact that the situation of unemployed women was not included in statistics and in encouraging more unemployed women to register as job-seekers. The campaign for female unemployment is an activity of local ACWUs. The campaigns have been conducted by the members. It has been well established and expanded. A Policy making activity has been implemented through appeals to the government, organizing rallies, conducting campaigns, etc. The ACWU organized five protest rallies from July to December 1998 in collaboration with the FKTU, KCTU, and University Solidarity for Women's Labor Rights. Over 600 participated. This campaign works to advise the government. We took the emerging problem of the moment and worked on a suitable policy which was then submitted to the government. The government and the ruling party accepted some of our suggestions and included them in their policies for unemployed women. Within the two major unions, the FKTU and the KCTU, it encouraged the exposition of women's issues in their union movements. We have made several appeals expressing our opinions to the government: appeals to implement specific policies for unemployed women, appeals to change the public labor service program, appeal to change to the process of registration for jobs, etc. We provided registration forms to women and collected them in the related office. Occupational fields open to women have been increased and the unemployed female family heads have been given more chances to find work. As study and research work, the North Cholla WWA conducted 'Research on the situation of unemployed women' and the KWWAU, Inchon WWA, Kwangju WWA, and Pusan WWA conducted joint monitoring of recruitment agencies. Seoul WWA conducted research on female family heads and participated in 'Research on the living requirements of unemployed female family heads' which was conducted by the Korea Women Workers Associations United. Through the study and research work and the monitoring project, we could assess the actual situation confronting unemployed women and could prepare proper appeals to the government. The KWWAU and local WWAs actively prepared the appeals and the government and the local autonomous administrations accepted some of the appeals. Through the monitoring work, we could explain the government policies to the unemployed women and, at the same time, we found some problematic points of the policies and suggested resolutions. Through these means, the ACUW has situated itself in an important position. We worked hard not only for our own projects and works but our staff have actively participated in various seminars and forums organized by other organizations. In addition, a computer project has been implemented. Central and local secretariats have developed a database system for job seekers in order to create more effective management. We have also opened a homepage at CHOLLIAN and NETSGO called 'Working Women's Network' where job seekers can obtain necessary information and counseling. There has been good feedback. 3. Achievements and tasks The achievements are as follows; In particular, Inchon WWA established 'Counseling Center for the abolishment of delay in payment and for prompting reemployment' and the center made a great contribution to bringing problems faced by unemployed female family heads to society. The mass media has begun to handle the issue and the government administrations have also paid more attention to the issue. The Special Committee for Women at the Health and Welfare Ministry conducted research on unemployed female family heads. 2)The act of drawing up policies which were taken to the government bore some fruit in that the government has provided a few new policies such as: expansion of female participation in public labor service, special countermeasures for unemployed female family heads, and others. These have been of actual and practical help to unemployed women.
->Symposium for the evaluation of action center 3) Through counseling and assistance, unemployed women have been encouraged to stand firm with a strong will to get through their difficulties. The tasks are as follows. 2) We should activate government proposals and urge for more effective countermeasure policies. The main role of the ACUW is to provide unemployment projects and to orchestrate demand for them. The monitoring of the situation of unemployed women by the government should be done systematically through the ACUW. 4. The policy for unemployed women based on the evaluation of the activities of the ACUW According to statistics compiled by the National Statistics Office, in April 1999, the unemployment rate for women is 5.8%. Compared with last year, it has increased 0.4%. Including the previously excluded disappointed unemployed women, a number of women are suffering from unemployment. In the case of women, the rate of employment of regular workers is being decreased and that of irregular workers is being increased. Therefore the currently decreasing rate of unemployment does not mean that job security is getting better. Moreover, when unemployed women are trying to get a job, their age, marital status, and need for child care have been obstacles. Women workers are typically offered low wages and long working hours and there is an increasing demand for young women. Therefore it is getting harder for middle-aged women to get jobs. Therefore the government should provide a policy directed towards unemployed women of all kinds. First, there should be a general policy for unemployed women. For that the government should conduct research on the situation and should provide constant assistance for female family heads and countermeasure plans for unemployed female family heads. Second, the administration function in relation to female labor should be vastly strengthened. Companies which have recently weakened maternity protection should face harsh punishment along with the companies which purposely delay payment and provide unjust working conditions. Third, it is urgent that basic living conditions are guaranteed for those who receive governmental income support. Fourth, the public labor service should be transferred to more productive and long term jobs. Particularly for the unemployed women, school meals and after-school programs should be systematically implemented. Fifth, there should be an administration in charge of women who have newly entered the labor market and the public recruitment agencies should set up a desk devoted to the female workforce. Sixth, there should be more promotion of countermeasure programs for unemployment and the government administration in charge of unemployment should improve its function. Seventh, protection for unemployed women through employment insurance should be expanded. Eighth, various countermeasure programs for unemployed women should be provided. |
