[no.10]2009’ Training for Counselors for Tackling Women's Unemployment and Poverty

2009.5.13  No.10
	<2009’ Training for Counselors for Tackling Women's Unemployment and Poverty>
	On March 19, 2009, training for counselors for Tackling Women’s Unemployment and Poverty was provided. In order to solidify counseling, in the training participated by nationwide 11 branches of the Hotline for Equality, regional Self-sufficiency Promotion Centers, and KWWA and its regional branches, they shared information on changes in welfare systems enforced in this year. After participants whose jobs are counseling in these organizations learned ‘changed welfare systems in 2009’ (instructed by Ahn Sang-hyup, Korea Research & Counseling Institute on Poverty), they discussed the activity directions of women’s unemployment and poverty, taken by each regional organization on the topic of ‘increasing women’s unemployment and poverty, and reaction of KWWA and its regional organizations in 2009’ (instructed by Choi Sangrim, advisory member of KWWA). Participants learned about new systems including various housing support systems, and EITC. We hope they can effectively utilize the systems for counselees. more>>
	<The 2nd labor forum on ‘indirect employment’: in-house outsourcing and the Labor Law 2>
	In order to search for various ways to tackle indirect employment affecting women which continues a trend of increase, the KWWA and KWTU looked at regulations regarding indirect employment in the 2nd labor forum as well as the 1st labor forum. In-house outsourcing in Korea is as wide spread as people associate indirect employment to in-house outsourcing. In fact, since the division between dispatched employment and in-house outsourcing is very unclear and workers are mostly illegally dispatched, measures should be taken. However, using the economic crisis as an excuse, the government has attempted to make undesirable amendment of the Temporary Employee Protection Act, by allowing of overall dispatched employment. Because no regulations or restrictions on in-house outsourcing are imposed, a wide range of dispatched employment and subcontracting will be employed in the society. If raised is the point that in-house subcontracting is illegal, -when the subcontracting company is not able to have independent management, the actual employment relation between outsourced workers and the actual user is considered as ‘implied employment contract.’ In this case, it is apparently decided as camouflaged outsourcing or subcontracting. -If this judgment is made, since outsourced workers can be regarded as indirectly employed regular workers by the actual user, full coverage including retirement allowances and wages should be compensated from the point when they become employed. If the company does not try to fulfill this, it has to dismiss workers. However, whether the dismissal is legal and suitable should be judged in the court. more>>
	<Press conference by women’s and the women’s circle against reducing the National Human Rights Commission of Korea>
	Our demands: - Immediately withdraw the policy to reduce the National Human Rights Commission of Korea which is a disgrace in the international community. - The Lee Myeong Bak government should stop the attempt to weaken the independence of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea immediately. - The Lee Myeong Bak authorities should bolster human rights for the social weaker and women. On March 25, 2009, Korean women’s organizations and women’s circle held a press conference against the reduction of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea at the back gate of the Integrated Government Building. The Lee Myeong Bak authorities announced to reduce the structure of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea by 21% within March. Since the commission has worked hard to improve human rights for women, the social weaker and minorities and ordinary people, the reduction means the proclamation to downgrade human rights to a less developed country. According to statistics by the UNDP, the level of Korean women’s status dropped from 64 amongst 108 countries in 2007 to 68 in 2008. The human right report written by the U.S. Department of State said that Korean women still experienced social discrimination and sex crimes, domestic violence and trafficking of women are severe, and moreover women are exposed to sex harassment and discrimination in terms of employment, income and promotion. Nevertheless, gender discrimination and sex harassment were transferred to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea from the Ministry of Women, and what is worse, the merger and abolition of the activities will cause the reduction. more>>
	<1st policy workshop on searching for women’s employment welfare strategies: in the passionate mood created by the instructors and participants>
	The 1st policy workshop on searching for women’s employment welfare strategies was held on March 31, 2009. It was hosted to react to women’s employment and job crisis, and the crowded workshop demonstrated high interest in the topic. The first lecture was about the policy comparison regarding the reaction to this economic crisis, and the second lecture is about ‘climate changes, energy crisis and our reaction: focusing on the criticism on the government’s low carbon green growth discussion’. In the first lecture, the instructor identified that it depended on the subjects if the current economic crisis which was worsened and transferred to the real economic crisis would terminate 30 year neo-liberalism or has been getting worse, and highlighted financial normalization and domestic demand activation should be carried out above all in order to overcome this crisis. In particular, since neo-liberalism is a system to exclude and block employment and income-earning, he stressed to create advance economic circulation structures to overcome this contradiction. more>>