‘Invisible women, Here are women irregular workers’- open forum to analyze outcome of a fact-finding survey on conversion of female irregular workers in public sector into permanent position, November 12th

‘Invisible women, Here are women irregular workers’- open forum to analyze outcome of a fact-finding survey on conversion of female irregular workers in public sector into permanent position, November 12th 

 KWWA conducted a open forum titled ‘Invisible women, Here are women irregular workers’ at National Assembly on 12th November. This open forum was very meaningful in the sense that it was place to publicize the both outcome of survey and 9 cases of in-depth interview, which convey vivid voice from field on whether government plan on conversion into regular position stating from public sector in order to solve irregular workers’ problem is being observed. 

 Firstly, cases of in-depth interview conveyed livelily how working as irregular women workers is exposed to experience of discrimination daily. 

 Short-term researcher or daily pay surveyor can’t have sense of belonging. Invisible person. (invisible person?) I feel like invisible person (Interviewee 1)

 This is different from fundamental issue of working condition, feel like organizing brain of human being in that way. Miniature society, namely pyramid. People at the top don’t need to deal with or greet to people at the bottom. It is ok to put somebody to work by e-mail. It is not necessary to greet because we are not employees, but we do greet. Then, accept greeting and pretend to know. So, short-term researcher is just invisible person. (Interviewee 1)

 What I feel at first is feeling like a wall? Like that, come and just sit (without something like real authority?) without it. There is almost no one who talk to. I feel so much that I am treated as non-existent person. (Interviewee 4)

 Like this, women irregular workers in public sector call themselves as invisible person. Women irregular workers exist but they are invisible being, treated as ‘non-existent person’, and living as invisible person, denied their existence. 

 Let’s look at the real working condition of women irregular worker through survey. Yoon JaYoung who report analysis of survey outcome remarked that this fact-finding survey is invaluable data showing working condition of female irregular workers in local government and illusion of government measure for public sector related to conversion into permanent-contract position. 1,727 responses of female irregular workers working in local government are analyzed. This survey response was obtained through 9 KWWA local branch’s activist’s effort. 

Monthly average wage, 1,362 thousands won/ 3.6 years of service/ average age, 41.3 years old 

 The outcome of survey show that average wage of female irregular worker in local government is 1,362 thousands won. Dispatch and subcontract came the lowest with 1,240 thousands won, followed by short-term contract with 1,261 thousands won and permanent-contract with 1,553 thousands won. Year of career of these workers is close to 10 years. But it came to the light that their wage is very low, even below the level presented in management provision of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on permanent-contract and short-term contract worker, A-class office clerk with 7 year and less of service is 1,933,130 won, B-class office clerk with 2 year and less of service is 1,357,640 won. 

81.2% of short-term contract workers respond to constant-continuous work, but 19.2% of those respond to possibility of conversion into permanent-contract position

 Looking at response to whether feature of work is constant-continuous, permanent-contract workers came to the first with 95.4%, followed by dispatched with 87.1% and short-term contract with 81.7%. Government announcement of September 5th excludes 74% of irregular workers in public sector from conversion into permanent-contract. As 80% and more of short-term contract, dispatch and subcontract workers perceive their work as constant-continuous work, these people should be included in list of conversion to permanent-contract position. Especially the point that 81.7% of short-term contract responded that their work is constant-continuous but only 19.2% of those responded that there is possibility to conversion into permanent-contract position reveal that government measure of permanent-contract is illusion. Also, there are 60% of respondents who responded that they won’t be likely to be in the list of permanent-contract because of termination or cancellation of contract. 

48.2% of respondent in short-term contract responded to difficulty in use of maternity leave

 It is showed that for the last 3 years, in case of short-term contract women workers, ensuring use of maternity leave is only 48.2%, and 15% of all respondents responded that they have been sexually harassed. Looking at coping action to sexual harassment, in case of permanent-contract workers, it is revealed that 80.8% took almost no or passive action like saying nothing in confusion, pretending to hear nothing, or getting out escapingly.  

 Response to that process of conversion to permanent-contract position is fair is just 48.3% and there are 22.5% response that it become unfair because they get on the wrong side of their superiors. 

 After presentation of survey outcome, a heated discussion was created, which hit the marks. 

 Na Jihyeon, President of KWTU(Korean Women’s Trade Union) picked 5 points as implication of this research. 1) use female workers with high educational background as low-paid personnel 2) even in public sector, female-concentrated occupation has low wage and poor form of employment 3) need to consider issues of emotional labor 4) seriousness of problems related to part-time job 5) it is revealed the real situation of female irregular workers that maternity leave is pie in the sky and it is almost impossible to take counteraction to sexual harassment. 

 Park Joo Young, a labor lawyer, pointed that when irregular workers in public sector say about discrimination that they have experienced what kind of work she/he is involved is not clear. Namely, their work does not exist as independent sector in formal process, rather is hidden behind irregular’s work. Unless irregular worker’s labor is not called as formal labor, hidden labor does not bring existence of the worker to light. Therefore key nature of irregular workers is not just job insecurity but elimination of authority and responsibility, stratification into second-class, which is the starting point of discrimination. She put emphasis on the point that discrimination against irregular workers is not something that can be eliminated through revision of little part of system for discrimination remedy and said it is understood that fundamental cause of discrimination lies with irregularization which alienate labor itself. 

 Beside, Kim Yoo Seon, head of Korea Labor and Society Institute, and Baek Young Sik, deputy director of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, made contribution to the discussion. Han Jeong Ae, a member of National Assembly, sat through. 

 This open forum, which co-sponsored by members of National Assembly (Eun Soomi, Han Jeongae, Jang Hana) belonging to Democracy Party, contributed to publicizing problems of government measure of irregular worker in public sector and the risk of policy to expand part-time jobs. Also this open forum made contribution to publicizing measure for conversion of female irregular workers to regular position which the female irregular workers want.