[no.13]The government and the Grand National Party should listen to cries of irregular workers

2009.8.25  No.13
	<The government and the Grand National Party should listen to cries of irregular workers>
	On June 25, 2009, in front of the government building at the Kwangwhamoon, Women’s Action for Decent Lives and Jobs (WADLJ) held a press conference to emphasize that the government and the Grand National Party, the ruling party should stop the 3 year deferment of the Temporary Employee Protection Act which they have proposed, because it pushes irregular workers into far deeper abyss of despair. Currently, the Grand National Party claims that the 3 year deferment of the Temporary Employee Protection Act should be an alternative for dismissed irregular workers, but that is against all reason.  Rather, the public sector which should have taken the lead in the regularization of irregular workers, has attempted to dismiss irregular workers. The government is like a parent who discards a malformed newborn baby. more>>
	<You cut down the minimum wage? Get blood out of a stone!>
	On June 25, 2009, a rally was held all day long in front of the Minimum Wage Committee although it was really hot.  Most participants are middle aged women.  It was the final official day to decide the minimum wage for the next year. From 5 o’clock, the KWTU organized ‘a rally of women subcontracted workers to win 1,070,000 won minimum wage,’ which WADLJ sponsored. About 300 unionists working at outsourcing companies participated in the rally, starting the rally singing a changed popular song. In her address, Park Namhee, president of KWTU blamed the management for its persistent insistence of the reduction by 4% and suggested to change the conservative policy stance of the current government by continuing the minimum wage struggle to local elections which will be held next year. Lee Kang-sil, a chairperson of Women Corea who gave a solidarity address criticized the policy stance of the current government briskly and strongly, after mentioning the current labor matters including the minimum wage and the Temporary Employee Protection Act. more>>
	<Public authorities at the head in dismissing irregular workers>
	On July 14, 2009, 'Women’s Action for Decent Lives and Jobs’ (WADLJ) hosted ‘a rally for denouncement of the dismissals of irregular workers working at public institutes and the demand to regularize irregular workers.  In this rally, about 100 people gathered together, who are activists belonging to WADLJ, KBS fix-term workers who had been dismissed owing to the expiration of their contracts, those working at veterans hospitals, Korea Workers Accident Medical Corporation (K-medi), and contracted women workers whose work will be decided to be outsourced by KBS. In the declaration, WADLJ denounced the government and the Grand National Party, saying “the Ministry of Labor that should have supported the upgrading of irregular workers at private companies and been concerned for the measures, and rather, it has made tacit approval of the ‘planned dismissals’ of irregular workers at public institutes, and public institutes are at the head in dismissing irregular workers. The government and the Grand National Party insisted in the deferment of the application of the Temporary Employee Protection Act, but there have been no incidents of dismissing 1,000,000 irregular workers that the government expected although more than 2 year and 10 days has been passed by since the act was effective.” more>>
	5th Labor Forum:       iscussing the law-making regarding specially hired workers’ issues
	The death of Park Jong-tae belonging to the Korean Transportation Workers’ Trade Union played a crucial role in drawing attention to specially hired workers’ issues again that had subsided. The current government has not taken any alternative measures for specially hired workers.  What is worse, the current government has driven specially hired workers into a tight corner when we look at the government’s policy that it does not recognize 88CC union belonging to the KWTU and dismissed union members.  Presently, specially hired workers were ranked third after fixed-term workers and part-timers, and women constituted a higher ratio: specially hired women workers accounted for 5.9% and men 2.2% of all the workers (2008, Korea Labor & Society Institute). This shows women should not ignore issues of specially hired workers. In this labor forum, to draw more attention to issues of specially hired employment, proposals made by the Democratic Party and the Democratic Labor Party were looked at carefully. According to the proposal made by the Democratic Party (especially by Kim Sanghee),  written contracts, payment, and annual leaves which are the core of the Labor Standard Law are recognized and the trade union act should be applied for. The proposal made by the Democratic Labor Party (especially by Hong Heeduck) expands the concepts of workers and users in the Labor Standard Law and Trade Union Act.  Presently, the two proposals concerning specially hired employment are pending in the Labor Environment Committee of the National Assembly.  The KWWA and KWTU have decided to search for the ways to address the matters of specially hired employment through other discussions.