[no.12]"Worthy happiness of US$1 " – Let’s raise the minimum wage at the rate of 1,000 won an hour!

2009.7.7  No.12
	<"Worthy happiness of US$1 " – Let’s raise the minimum wage at the rate of 1,000 won an hour!>
	On May 21, 2009, “Win-win Women’s Action to save common people and save jobs” (consisting of KWWA, KWTU, FKTU, Korean Womenlink, and KWAU) organized a campaign, “Worthy happiness of US$1”: Let’s raise the minimum wage by the rate of 1,000 won (=equal to US$1) an hour.   This campaign was started with the minimum wage songs whose words were changed from labor songs, followed by the opening address done by Kim Insook, the co-chairperson of Korean Womenlink and speeches by KWTU’s rank and file members. more>>
	<Launching “Win-Win Women’s Action to save common people and save jobs”>
	On June 15, 2009 nationwide women who worry about their jobs, education and prices of commodities, launched “Win-Win Women’s Action to save common people and save jobs” (Win-Win Women’s Action) ‘to create society without the three worries about the above.’ Not only the total number of 49 women and labor organizations (as of June 15, 2009) but also almost all KWWA’s regional organization activists also joined the inauguration. Opening address was made by Nam-Yoon Insoon, standing chairperson of KWTU, like “We don’t need any more deaths. We are here to live and to give a life to those going to starve relatively” and followed by speeches by the persons involved including a woman in her 20s who suffers from her university tuition fee, parents squeezed dry due to education issues of their children, a woman single parent who are worrying about her monthly rent, struggling 88CC women workers, and dismissed women workers in struggles against the national highway. Whenever the people involved made addresses, the audience cheered them up giving warm supports.
	<Filing a cancelation suit against ‘the government’s decision of grant suspension’>
	In 2008, KWWA was selected to carry out long-term project (three year project titled ‘women workers’ newly written human rights’ by the government. However, in 2009 the Ministry of Public Administration and Security in charge stopped its grant, accusing the KWWA of a NGO which joined the national mad cow disease countermeasure committee.   In response, on June 17, 2009 the KWWA filed acancelation suit ‘against the decision of grant suspension’. There are crucial loopholes in the procedure. Joah Se-joon belonging to the Minbyun-Lawyers for a Democratic Society highlighted the purpose of the claim as follows: “There is no regulation on the grant suspension, and the KWWA’s case is not affected by the reasons for the cancellation of grant due to the changes in the conditions manifested in the Article 21. In addition, the ministry does not take the legal procedures of the contents of the decision, legal ground and hearing in the case of the ‘right-limiting decision’ in accordance with Articles 21 and 22.” Furthermore, the government’s decision violates the basic rights guaranteed by the constitution. more>>
	<What are alternatives to disappearing 98% of women’s jobs? >
	On June 15th 2009 when “Win-Win Women’s Action to save common people and save jobs” was launched, the KWWA hosted a forum entitled ‘What are alternatives to disappearing 98% of women’s jobs to?’. In the current economic crisis, women’s jobs are in great jeopardy. The analysis and countermeasures were addressed seriously. Dr. Yoon Ja-young (belonging to Korea Labor Institute) made a presentation on the situation of women’s unemployment and countermeasures. While the number of males finding a job between November 2008 and May 2009 was declined by 18,000 persons compared to the previous year, she highlighted 762,000 women were decreased, which means women accounted for 98% out of the total number of people whose jobs disappeared. Particularly, there are significant decreases in the number of women in their 20s and 30s whose jobs disappeared by age and those with educational levels lower than high school graduates. Moreover, there were also crucial declines in the number of jobs provided at the very small companies like those employing 1~4 peoples. In terms of types of employment, since there were the most significant decreases in jobs for temporary and day workers and self-employers, women in the very vulnerable classes were seen as being targeted. more>>