3rd National Care Workers' Rally
Members of National Cooperative of House Managers(NCHM) and activists of Women Workers' Associations took part in the 3rd National Care Workers' Rally on last October 20. At the rally, we shouted 'Right to be cared to everyone! Sustainable wages and labor rights to care workers!' Now, Why don't you look at the rally?
October 20, 2012 at 3pm
We are not on a picnic. However, we are as happy as floating on the cloud, like kids on picnic. Are you curious what we are doing? We are having late lunch. In any situation, eating comes first. Even for this rally, don't you think eating comes first?
We will eat a lot and then, shout a lot, so that people at the Jonggak can hear us, those in the Blue House can hear us, and even people at Yoeido can hear us. Since we are all involved in care industry, we can understand their livelihoods by looking into each other's eyes. We are waiting for the moment when the rally will start.
5 minutes before the care workers' rally. Every body gets ready. All of us wearing very bright pink vests are NCHM members and activists of Women Workers' Associations. When the MC announced the beginning of the rally, we of household workers, care workers, in-home nursing workers, workers for the disabled, childcare workers applauded and shouted a lot.
First of all, care workers are on stage. Joyful music is echoing around. We are changing the lyrics of 'Not everyone can love' (a Korean pop song) and singing along. After that, Lee Jo-soon makes a speech: “Although care workers are necessary human resources at hospital, hospital deny our direct employment. Even though we receive just 2,700 Won by hour, we work hard to help patients get recovered soon." She also let us know the poor working conditions of care workers, saying "We have poor working conditions. We don't have annual leave, monthly leave, and recesses. Some care workers are affected by inflected shots, and from time to time we are also affected by popular diseases amongst patients." She makes a resolution, saying "as women care workers, we will struggle firmly with the government and local governments, in order to gain the three labor rights."
Next, Kim Woo-yeon, childcare worker makes an address. "as a childcare worker, I have worked hard to teach and take care of children for 18 years, but my present wage is just 1.1 million Won without any bonus nor annual and monthly leaves. I have to rely on the small salary." She also said "Childcare workers are not human beings. We are robots. We are so busy taking care of children without any time to have comfortable lunch. Even if we are so sick that we had to go to hospital, we had to go back to work to take care of children, with our sick bodies. This is our reality. " She also deplored the situations of irregular workers, saying “When I started working as a childcare worker, my son was 8 years old. Now he is 24 years old, but even he is also a irregular worker." She had a firm resolution, saying "I will unite and struggle hard with my comrades." She sobbed but made a strong speech, which made us solemn.
Then, Nam-Yoon Insoon, a national assembly member and Kim Jong-chol, a vice president of the United Progressive Party went on the stage. Nam-Yoon Insoon said, "Long-term care workers are sometimes nationally recognized as domestic helpers," and then, she promised "I will tackle care workers' issues well." Kim Jong-chol also made a speech, emphasizing the importance of care jobs: "Care workers are very essential to take care of people."
After that, 'Momjit," a Korean students' marching group has a performance. Are you looking at the coalition of university students who are eager to support our struggle? Don't you think it won't be long for us to achieve our demands?
Next, Park Kyeongja, an worker for the disabled makes a speech. "We, workers for the disabled do our best in various ways to support and assist the independent lives of disabled people. In the process, our skeletal and muscular systems are often hurt. To boot, our overtime benefits are just 4,000 Won a day." She demanded "to pay us in accordance with the labor related laws not just paying 1,000 Won for night and holiday overtime." She also raised her voice, saying "We, workers for the disables are not goods that people can dispose when they are out of order. We are humans. Before we are very sick, prepare for effective measures to prevent diseases regarding our skeletal and muscular systems."
After that, Yeom Changsoon, a home care worker and the Seoul branch chairperson of the NCHM and Ullala Sisters, a dancing team composed of care workers of Kuro Self-sufficiency Promotion Centers went to the stage together.
Yeom Changsoon says "we had struggled for three years, for the reforming of the Labor Standard Act and for the social recognition as workers, but we are still not regarded as workers." She also deplores the current situation, saying "we have demanded urgent legal reforms regarding industrial accident and employment insurances, but we haven't gained any fruits yet." She shouts, saying "the government and National Assembly, reform the Labor Standard Act and ratify the ILO convention promptly." and also makes a resolution "although we are in poor conditions, but I will try to help your struggles to be meaningful and happy."
Ullala Sisters, a dancing team composed of care workers of Kuro Self-sufficiency Promotion Centers, put on their performance. They are dancing very passionately to the rhythm of a song sung by Boney M. Their performance is so incredibly beautiful that everyone is filled with admiration. We wonder how they are able to practice very hard like that even though they are all tied up. After that, as soon as the music of 'Gangnam Style' is played, audiences are standing up and dancing together. We are all united.
Representatives from our five care sectors are on stage. Each of them are holding a hand picket reading job insecurity, overwork, low wage, unfair treatment, and privatization of social service. They are breaking the pickets bravely and we are shouting with great joy. We hope our working conditions can be changed soon like the nicely broken pickets.
We rounded off our rally with representatives' reading a resolution on behalf of us.
Resolution of third Care Workers' Rally
Five years have passed since the social service system got introduced in earnest. However, care workers involved in social service sector still have poor working conditions. In conformity with an increasing social needs, the government has created social service jobs, but we, care workers in the social service sector have suffered from low pays, insecure employment, skeletal and muscular diseases, and various kinds of stresses. We have worked very hard for the 5 years, but the social service jobs are considered to be typical poor jobs because of low wages and poor working conditions.
Until now, women has been in charge of caring for family members at home in the Korean society. However, the structural and economic changes in the Korean society has emphasized the importance of socially caring people, and consequently, the care area was changed from the private and family sector to the social sector. As the necessity of social care increases, the value of care work should be recognized and appreciated.
The government has under-evaluated care work on the ground that anyone can do it, paying less than the minimum wage or just above that. Furthermore, in-home care workers cannot be regarded as workers because we work in the private sector. However, we, care workers would like to ask a question back. Do you think it is an unprofessional thing to take care of other families from at least 2 hours up to 24 hours a day? Family members had serious physical and psychological problems in taking care of other members, and it became a social issue. We, care workers are in charge of social care necessarily needed for people.
We, care workers consider the qualitative improvement of social services is directly connected to the improvement of our working conditions. We consider the improvement of our working conditions will begin with legal changes. Care workers' sustainable wages should be assured and our labor rights and job security should be protected without any discrimination.
Today, we, care workers participating in the 3rd Care Workers' Rally represent childcare workers, geriatric care specialists, care workers, workers for the disabled, household workers across the nation, to let you know care workers' social demands. We, the people providing all types of care from the cradle to that just before the grave, really hope to raise social awareness of the need for social care. We would like to shout the following demands, hoping we can have healthy and safe working conditions with high self-confidence:
* Consolidate the public and social responsibility for care services!
* Protect sustainable wages and labor rights of care workers!
* Recognize care workers as workers and apply the Industrial Accident Act to them!
* Reform Infant Care Act and help care workers to have two shift work a day!
* Ratify the ILO convention and apply the Labor Standard Act, Employment & Industrial Accident Act, equally to other workers!
* Reform Geriatric Long-term Care Insurance Act and enact the Care Worker Treatment Improvement Act!
* Provide sustainable wages for workers for the disabled and employ their assistants directly!
October 20, 2012
“Right to be cared to everyone! Sustainable wages and labor rights to care workers!”
shouted by participants in the 3rd Care Workers' Rally