Voices from the Workplace 3.
It is now time for struggle
Jung, Bok-kwon interviewee, Busan KWWAU Hotline for Equality
No Changes in Workplace Atmosphere After Sexual Harassment Case
I started working in the Saemaeul Gumgo (village mutual savings institution) in Gaegum 2 dong from 1992 and has the position of chief clerk. Last year, a sexual harrassment case occurred in our workplace and the sexual harrassment prevention video produced by the Department of Labor was shown twice this year. The case was known to many as a successfully settled case but the reality is that nothing has changed. The head of the Saemaeul Gumgo openly
criticized the woman employee and insulted her by saying that `she had brought upon herself, she was inherently a bad character and had ruined the image of the Saemaeul Gumgo. She was not a suitable person for the office'.
I was really sorry for my colleague when I visited her in the hospital. She was receiving psychiatric treatment. It seemed meaningless that her case has been designated as an industrial accident and she receiving hospital treatment but with nothing changed in our workplace.
Sexual harrassment has occurred and the person responsible had paid his dues but the problem continued in the frequent dinners that the head of the Saemaeul Gumgo held in the name of office unity.
At a dinner after a board meeting, he ordered repeatedly "one of you women pour the wine for the board members (a degrading insult to Korean women implying that they were fast); ‘any woman drinking various types of alcohol mixed together gets to go on vacation’and really sending the person who drank to go on vacation and as for me personally, he insulted me, a weekend spouse, by saying that,` all married couples must get lovers. How can you trust your husband. Try behind his back.'
Dept of Labor decides against sexual harassment
The decisive blow came last year during a New Year's Eve party in a night club. The head of the Saemaeul Gumgo pointed at the women present including myself and labeled us with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and told us to sit between the men. Labeling women with numbers happens in places with service women and we were thoroughly offended by his behavior.
I was furious and felt that this could not continue and after consultation with the financial and clerical workers' union where I was a member, I filed a petition against the head of our Saemaeul Gumgo for sexual harassment. During the investigation, he called a conference of all the workers, criticizing me in front of all my colleagues, trying to isolate me from the others and finding fault with my work.
The investigation was brought to the Equal Employment Commission but the decision was made that my case was not one of sexual harassment. The reason was that labeling women colleagues as 1, 2, 3, 4 was not a form of sexually degrading behavior or a form of sexual harassment and that other women present had not felt insulted by his behavior.
What is the difference between sexually degrading behavior and sexual harassment? Whoever would testify on the truth of what happened at the party after the direct and indirect harm that was inflicted on the worker who testified against the senior officer who sexually harassed my fellow colleague?
After the decision against my petition, I had a very difficult time at work. He showed no signs of repentance saying things against me like ‘truth wins’, ‘I'm scared of going out on office dinners’, ‘such a bad worker’. It was in such a situation when the sexual harassment prevention videos were shown and he giggled throughout the video saying `just like us.' I hated every minute of it.
There was no supervision or investigation undertaken by the Department of Labor since the first sexual harassment case, and the woman who testified against the assaulter had a very difficult time at work. Our work was being affected over worries relating to the drinking office dinners and who could we turn to in order to avoid another case of sexual harassment? Especially, when he was in charge of the sexual harassment prevention education in the office.
Re-petitioning and Settlement
In the meantime, I had moved to join regional unions and came to know people at the Hotline for Equality and after several counseling sessions, I finally made the difficult decision to submit another petition calling for re-investigation.
My decision was supported by members of the Hotline who pointed out that the settlement of the case itself was not enough but the problems remaining in the workplace such as supervision and concern over remaining workers, changing the office dinner culture, must be addressed as well.
I re-submitted my petition last May and the head of Saemaeul Gumgo once again accused me of `a bad worker who goes around suing' and imposed his irrational behavior on me such as making me carrying down all the chairs to the basement and having all the workers work standing up on the pretext that we had been rude to our customers.
However, as time passed, he realized that such behavior was detrimental to himself and actually visited the union offices agreeing to meet all my demands on the condition that I withdrew my petition. After a long negotiation, we came to a compromise which included acknowledgement of the sexual harassment per se, formal apology in front of all the employees and within the organization and the apology to be published nationwide in the Saemaeul Gumgo newspaper.
I don't believe that he has changed. He has just realized that he could not withstand any longer the strength of the union and the women's groups that I have been working with on the issue and had no choice but to accept my demands.
My colleague from last year's sexual harassment case has been reinstated and is working with us again. I will keep my eyes open to see if he would abide by his promises and not harass the women workers. May be the struggle is just starting from now. I am not worried any more. I am not alone any longer.