[Press Material] We are asking to 19th term National Assembly candidates:
What have you been preparing for women workers?
(131 candidates answered to 21 questions)

 

- Saenuri Party has the lowest rate of agreement

- A high number of candidates agree to maternity rights of irregular women workers

- Women's affirmative action comes in the last

 

We at the Korean Women Workers Association and its 11 branches and the Korean Women's Trade Union and its nationwide 10 branches received the total number of 131 replies from candidates for 19th term National Assembly, after sending a written policy inquiry consisting of 21 questions in the areas of jobs in the public sector, irregular women workers and employment discrimination against women.

I63 candidates from the Democratic United Party (DUP) (accounting for 48.1%), 25 candidates from the Unified Progressive Party (UPP) (comprising 19.4%) and 24 candidates from Saenuri Party (accounting for 18.6%) answered our inquiries.

 

Candidates showed the highest agreement on the maternity right of irregular women workers
Candidates had 95.4% of agreement to this issue. Most candidates seemed to consider maternity rights of irregular workers very serious. That is because one of the biggest problem in our society is low birth rate. No candidate was against this issue.

 

Women's jobs and the introduction of paternity leave come in joint second place
Candidates showed the second highest agreement on the issues of women's jobs and the introduction of paternity leave. Why the two issues are ranked joint second is that childcare became a hot potato in this society and there became higher social awareness of the protection of paternity right. In regard to women's jobs, there are other comments. Candidate Kang Ki-jung belonging to the DUP commented "220,000 jobs can be created in the areas of medical & health, silver health care and recuperation." Jung Ho-jun from the DUP viewed women's labor market rather smaller, compared to our view that the women's labor market can be increased 1.5 times higher than now.

 

Affirmative action comes in the last one
Candidates showed their lowest agreement on affirmative action for women and there were also a lot of disagreement on this issue. 75% agreed to this issue but 7 % disagreed and 12.5% made other comments about this issue, which was ranked the bottom. That is because of the possibility of reverse discrimination against men.

 

However, in our society, high ranking women public officers accounted for 7.4% working in the headquarters, and 4.9% at branches. In addition, only 1.3% of executives of 10 top companies were women. This shows women's marginality and under-representation in the society.

 

In the case of Norway, affirmative action for women excelled 40%, which broke the glass ceiling. In addition, the French parliament passed a law that women should comprise 40% of company executives. Many European countries such as Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Italy, Germany and Holland have already implemented women's affirmative action that women should comprise 40%, and similar laws are under positive consideration. Affirmative action for women is an employment equality strategy that many countries have adapted.

 

Other comments regarding this item are like this: Affirmative action for women should be implemented steadily (Jung Ho-jun, the DUP; Song Jin-sup, the Saenuri Party; Kim Man-kyoon, standing as an independent; and Min Hong-Chol, the DUP); and Lee Sung-hun (belonging to the Saenuri Party steered the middle course, saying "I agreed to the purpose of affirmative action that it guarantees the protection of women's social participation. However, I think it is necessary to consider public opinions carefully." Candidate Cha Young (the DUP) insisted that legal reform is necessary to increase cultural awareness rather than artificial and compulsory affirmative action, but she didn't explain anything about the details of the legal reform.

 

The second bottom one was to regularize irregular women workers' positions in the public sector. This issue gained 83.1% agreement. Why candidates showed a low agreement is that is related to budget problems. However, this issue is very crucial to women workers, because most of irregular workers are women. 61.8% of women were irregular workers, compared to 40.2% of all male workers (as of August 2011). The regularization of irregular women workers' positions in the public sector should be started rapidly to expand the effects to the private sector.

 

The second last one is that women workers can legally refuse working while being fully paid, when sexual harrassment occurs. The existing law doesn't regulate any detailed and active protection by company owners for victims. That's why many women workers usually quit their jobs as soon as sexual harassment takes place. However, this issue has not been socially aware yet, so it didn't seem to gain high consensus from candidates. However, Women workers' NGO have to continue raising this issue and it is necessary to protect the victims of sexual harassment.

 

 

Saenuri Party has the lowest rate of agreement according to party analysis
According to party analysis, only 7 candidates from the Saenuri Party agreed to all issues, accounting for 29.2%, and independent candidates came in the second last, accounting for 63.6% (7 persons), and DUP was ranked the third bottom one, accounting for 66.7% (42 persons). However, in the case of the UPP, 24 persons out of 25 answerers agreed to all the questions, which is clear comparison with the Saenuri Party (7 candidates out of 24 respondents agreed all questions). In addition, although New Jinbo Party was a very small group (5 persons), all of them agreed to all the issues.

 

66.4% candidates show all of their agreement
Out of 131 respondents, 87 people showed their agreement to all the questions, accounting for 66.4%.

 

Candidates show their different colors of opinions
Candidates for 19th term National Assembly sent their different opinions. Chun Ho-sun (UPP) showing his essay-style answers said "I will legalize the resume of equality without showing any sex, age and academic records." "It should be compulsory to guarantee 30% of women executives in all public sector and public companies," and "I will enact 'Discrimination Ending Act' and introduce the pregnancy leave after adding the reasons for pregnancy."

 

Lee No-keun (Saenuri Party), a man of forthright view answered to some questions, saying "I haven't thought over it," "I think I should study this issue."

 

A candidate tried to appeal to us. Cho Hyun-jye (DUP) sent a long letter, saying he agreed the issues basically, but he hasn't prepared for them yet. So he was not able to answer properly. He also promised to "make women workers' issues foremost policies if he was elected, after saying that he was not good enough because it was the first time to him.

 

Ahn Hong-jun (Saenuri party) and Lee Joo-young (Saenuri party) were classified as others, because the two candidates showed the colors of their clear opinions about almost all questions. They put a lot of additional comments. For example, Ahn Hong-jun showed his agreement in regard to <7. Regularizing all the irregular women workers in the public sector>, but he presumed that various approaches for obtaining budgets and social consensus are needing. Candidate Lee Joo-young also didn't make any promise, just saying that he would review comprehensively and implement steadily. They had served two and three terms. Meanwhile, Chon Jung-bae (DUP) and Lee Mi-kyung (DUP) who had served 4 terms showed their consensus to all the questions. Hong Jun-pyo (Saenuri Party) is tricky. He called us, to check what other candidates had answered, and delayed his answers and finally he didn't send his reply.

 

KWWA and KWTU will have been working hard to push the elected to keep their promises and create a happy society for women workers.

 

Appendix 1. The content of our questionnaire

1. Women's jobs in the care service sector (public sector)

1) Increasing decent women's jobs by 2 times higher, which is the average level of OECD countries (about 1 million jobs should be increased for 5 years);

2) The government is in charge of making care service jobs, facilities and provision system public, and providing all people the right to be cared;

3) the ensuring of job security and suitable wages (80% of average wages of workers) in order to make care service jobs sustainable;

4) The ILO Domestic Workers Convention should be ratified promptly;

5) Domestic helper should be excluded from the exemption clause. The government should recognize the right to work for in-home workers (the reforming of the Labor Standard Act); and,

6) In-home workers should be covered by employment insurance, and industrial accident insurance, and their social insurance should be supported.

 

2. Irregular women workers

7) Regularizing all the irregular women workers in the public sector;

8) The introduction of limiting the use of irregular workers (reforming the fixed term workers Act);

9) Decreasing the size of irregular women workers to 30%;

10) Encouraging irregular women workers to join social insurance and expanding supports for them (expanding all companies to cover the workers receiving 130% compared to the Minimum Wage);

11) Recognizing indirect employment in the mother company and having direct employment in the public sector;

12) Reforming labor related laws in order to recognize the right to work for specially employed workers (home study teacher and golf caddies); and

13) Covering part-time workers working less than 15 hours by the Labor Standard Act

 

3. Employment discrimination

14) Regulating the minimum wage to 50% of workers' average wage (Reforming the Minimum Wage Act);

15) Introducing the Affirmative Action for women (allocation of 30% to women in the public sector, 20% in the company and private sector);

16) Regularizing women's right to refuse working when sexual harassment takes place, and giving full payment to women workers during their refusal period;

17) Guaranteeing maternity leave and parental leave for irregular women workers;

18) Introducing paternity leave to activate male's child caring;

19) Increasing the wage ceiling for maternity leave and parental leave;

20) Providing public helper for parturient women, home care workers and childcare workers for single parents and two paycheck low wage couple; and,

21) Increasing national and public childcare center by 30%

 

Appendix 2. distribution of response by question (unit: %)

Questions

Agreement

Disagreement

Others

No response

1) Increasing decent women's jobs by 2 times higher, which is the average level of OECD countries ;

94.6

0

5.4

0

2) The government is in charge of making care service jobs, facilities and provision system public, and providing all people the right to be cared;

86.2

3.8

8.5

1.5

3) the ensuring of job security and suitable wages (80% of average wages of workers) in order to make care service jobs sustainable;

93.1

1.5

4.6

0.8

4) The ILO Domestic Workers Convention should be ratified promptly;

91.5

1.5

3.8

3.1

5) Domestic helper should be excluded from the exemption clause. The government should recognize the right to work for in-home workers (the reforming of the Labor Standard Act); and,

90.8

1.5

3.8

3.8

6) In-home workers should be covered by employment insurance, and industrial accident insurance, and their social insurance should be supported.

90.8

1.5

4.6

3.1

7) Regularizing all the irregular women workers in the public sector;

83.1

3.1

9.2

4.6

8) The introduction of limiting the use of irregular workers (reforming the fixed term workers Act);

90.8

0.8

3.8

4.6

9) Decreasing the size of irregular women workers to 30%;

92.8

0.8

5.4

1.5

10) Encouraging irregular women workers to join social insurance and expanding supports for them (expanding all companies to cover the workers receiving 130% compared to the Minimum Wage);

92.3

0.8

4.6

2.3

11) Recognizing indirect employment in the mother company and having direct employment in the public sector;

88.5

3.1

6.2

2.3

12) Reforming labor related laws in order to recognize the right to work for specially employed workers (home study teacher and golf caddies); and

93.1

0

3.8

3.1

13) Covering part-time workers working less than 15 hours by the Labor Standard Act

85.4

4.6

5.4

4.6

14) Regulating the minimum wage to 50% of workers' average wage (Reforming the Minimum Wage Act);

89.2

3.1

3.1

4.6

15) Introducing the Affirmative Action for women (allocation of 30% to women in the public sector, 20% in the company and private sector);

75.4

6.9

12.3

5.4

16) Regularizing women's right to refuse working when sexual harassment takes place, and giving full payment to women workers during their refusal period;

84.6

3.8

6.2

5.4

17) Guaranteeing maternity leave and parental leave for irregular women workers;

95.4

0

2.3

2.3

18) Introducing paternity leave to activate male's child caring;

94.6

1.5

2.3

1.5

19) Increasing the wage ceiling for maternity leave and parental leave;

93.1

1.5

3.1

2.3

20) Providing public helper for parturient women, home care workers and childcare workers for single parents and two paycheck low wage couple; and,

92.3

1.5

3.8

2.3

21) Increasing national and public childcare center by 30%

93.8

0.8

5.4

0

Posted by KWWA
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