[no.17]“Please, address me as a house manager not auntie” - Simultaneous campaigns across the country for improving the social cognition of housekeeping service workers

2010.7.30  No.17
	<“Please, address me as a house manager not auntie” - Simultaneous campaigns across the country for improving the social cognition of housekeeping service workers>
	They are housekeeping service workers taking care of housework and caring which were considered as unpaid work in the family. As a vacuum in housekeeping and caring at home has been made because of increasing economic activities of women, the rapid aging of our society, change of the family types, and so on, they fill up the vacuum. There are 160,000 housekeeping service workers as of 2007 according to the Economically Active Population Survey of the National Statistical Office. However, their actual number is probably much more than 160,000 if we consider the number of housekeeping and caring service workers in the informal sector which does not show up in statistics..  more>>
	<Revival of the economy of ordinary people should start from a raise of the minimum wage.>
	Women workers spoke out loudly in front of the National Assembly at Yeouido on June 9 in spite of hot weather. A campaign of women’s labor groups was organized to gain the minimum hourly wage of 5,180 won for the year 2010. The Win-Win Women’s Action hosted the campaign and about 100 women workers from Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, and Daegu gathered with only a wish of the raise of the minimum wage. The campaign began with an opening speech of Ms. NamYoon Insoon, KWAU standing representative. Participants sang a song of the minimum wage with modified lyrics of “twist of love” from time to time during the campaign. Ms. Kwak Jeongsuk, a member of the National Assembly, gave a solidarity speech and said, “At least one member of the committee on the minimum wage should be a minimum wage worker so that the committee will be able to understand minimum wage workers. more>>
	<Campaign “Project for Happiness of Working Moms” on the occasion of Equal Employment Week in April>
	The KWWA and its 11 branches organized a campaign “Project for Happiness of Working Moms” on the occasion of Equal Employment Week in April. Every region had a meaningful time to publicize an interrupted career problem due to triple burdens of pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare with topics of ‘work and care together’ and ‘for the society enabling us to achieve a balance between work and family,’ and to think its alternatives. Particularly, this campaign was conducted with unified contents as the KWWA had made promotion materials such as a parody of the soap opera “Chasing runaway slaves” and a UCC video clip and distributed them to regions. more>>
	<Change by Participation>
	The 1st Women Labor Forum: what will we do regarding local and educational autonomy? The Korean Women's Trade Union (KWTU) and the KWWA organized the 1st Women’s Labor Forum in the basement education room at 2:00 pm on April 16 in order to discuss our responses to local and educational autonomy in relation with the June nationwide local election. The forum had two topics: ‘the understanding of local autonomy and regional policy’ by Mr. Ha Seungsu, a steering committee member of “Ieum” (a grassroots autonomy institute) and ‘the project making an education city where children are happy’ by Mr. An Seungmun, an executive committee co-chairperson of the Education Network for Hope. It discussed ‘a role of women workers in the era of local and educational autonomy.’ more>>
	<The 26th Korean Women’s Convention under the theme of “make our hope real with women’s participation” in commemoration of the International Women’s Day!>
	The convention was held under the theme of “make our hope real with women’s participation” in the auditorium of Ewha Womans University on March 6. It urged women’s participation and the need of the society’s constant concern and support for ‘a gender equality community with a woman’s vote,’ ‘a society where people work and care together,’ and ‘a society without poverty and violence.’ The ‘Colorful Free Market’ was held before the convention in front of the auditorium. Participating organizations prepared various booths to publicize their agenda, to increase membership, and to fund raise by selling products of self-support communities. The convention started at 2:00 pm with about 1,000 participants. It was presided over by Actor Kwon Haeyo, public relations ambassador for the Korean Women’s Association United (KWAU), and Ms. Choe Gwanggi, professional master of ceremonies. An opening speech was given by Ms. NamYoon Insoon, KWAU standing representative, and Ms. Park Youngmi, KWAU co-representative. They said, “Let us make a beautiful solidarity by overcoming sarcasm and division, and understanding and embracing each other’s differences with open minds. Let us make our hope real with our participation. We wish to meet you where hope is formed and reality is changed.”  >>more
	<“Unstable Jobs” – Press Conference of the Win-Win Women’s Action in commemoration of the International Women’s Day 2010>
	The press conference was held by “the Win-Win Women’s Action to save the people’s livelihood and jobs” in front of the National Assembly at Yeouido at 11:00 on March 3 in commemoration of the International Women’s Day. It urged the job security of women with the topic of “unstable jobs”. Recently the South Korean government brought forward various measures to encourage childbirth such as a so-called ‘purple job’ (a part-time job) aimed at enabling women workers to achieve a balance between work and family. (Note: The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family explains the color purple combines red, a feminine color, and blue, a masculine color, and thus symbolizes gender equality and harmony between work and family.) The government does not pay attention to the reality that a large number of women have fallen into unemployment and poverty, but considers the low birthrate problem as the most serious matter and approaches employment policy geared to promoting childbirth. About 70% of women workers are irregular worker and most of them work for a minimum wage. Maternity leave and childcare leave for them is all just pie in the sky. Therefore it is doubtful they can live on the purple job. >>more