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2002-10-28 13:43:24, 조회 : 48 |
97. 5. 12-18 East Asian Women Workers' Workshop
Presentation report at CAW meeting
4. Organizational Actions against Difficulties Faced by Irregular Women Workers
4.1 Policy suggestion and Institutional Activities
Women Workers Associations(WWAs) in the late 80s realized that problems related to irregular employment were caused by the Korean economic structure. WWAs emphasized the need for providing countermeasures against offshore relocation, shop closures, subcontracting and downsizing which took place very rapidly in the late 80s. In those days, even the labour world did not treat these issues as important problems linked to the Korean economic structure, but WWAs began to raise the issues.
A open forum called 'the reality of job insecurity of women workers and its countermeasures' was held in 1990s. In the forum which was held by Korean Women Workers Association, Incheon Women Workers Association, Pucheon Women Workers Association, Korean Women for Democracy and Solidarity and Korean Christian Women for Women Minjung, the pattern of temporary employment through dispatch and increases in part-time employment were pointed out and dispatched employment was strongly objected, based on the projection that the form of employment would be expanded very quickly. Also, participants including WWAs encouraged trade unions to respond to these matters and they played a leading role in the formation of the 'Preparatory Committee for Job Insecurity' which was associated with trade unions.
WWAs in other regions and local trade unions together formed special committees for secure employment and hold forums to address the issue of job insecurity such as irregular employment. As a result, National Council of Trade Unions became involved in institutional struggles for enacting protections of part-time workers.
Also, in 1991, WWAs published handbooks and guidelines, and they jointly held a open forum to address job insecurity in the Seoul metropolitan area. In the 'symposium for workers' job security in the Seoul area' held by WWAs in 1992, a rapid expansion of irregular employment was revealed again, so it was also confirmed that the issue of employment security should have become an important task in the labour movement. WWAs started to take activities such as providing education, doing research, and personal networking and discussion for female computer typists whose employment are usually temporary through home-base, part-time, and dispatched works. The WWAs' activities were to look at current trends of irregular employment and providing countermeasures.
WWAs also carried out activities against the flexible labour policy of the South Korean government. In 1993, the government announced its intention to enact four labor related laws (Labor Policy Basic Act, Job Security Act, Employment Insurance Law and Dispatched Employment Act). But, since legislating the Dispatched Employment Act means reinforcing job insecurity, WWAs systematically campaigned against the enactment with other women's and labour organizations.
In 1993 while we, WWAs carried out counselling programmes on dispatched employment in the manufacturing, and we held the symposium of 'double exploitation, situations and problems of dispatched workers': cases of illegal dispatched employment which have largely occurred in the positions of security guards, computer typists and clerical workers, were presented. This made a great contribution to participation of the general labour world in campaigns against the rationalization of dispatched employment. In 1996, we collected cases about dispatched employment which reinforces labour control and weakens organizational powers, and we distributed the collections to organizations and institutions involved, in order to produce their active responses to labour problems caused by temporary and dispatched employment. This is viewed as discouraging the government from worsening labor laws including legislating the dispatched act.
A forum for amending labour laws and for promoting equal labor between genders, maternity protection which was held in October 1996, WWAs made policy suggestions which showed women workers' demands for the restriction on irregular employment and expansion of irregular employment.
4.2 Establishment of Hot Line for Equality
From the beginning, WWAs have continued to carry out counselling. When a high number of unions were organized (in late 80s), working women asked for counselling mainly about how to organize trade unions. But afterwards, contents of counselling asked us have been changing. Since the early 1990s, we have usually found that an increasing level of marginalization of irregular workers and married women in the labor market who are usually employed in small-scale companies and subcontracting. In 1994, irregular workers became to account for 20% of the total number of those who were counselled with us. This shows an urgent necessity for taking action about the issue. To address problems of irregular workers whose rights have not yet been protected by labor laws in South Korea, WWAs in five(5) regions which are Seoul, Incheon, Kwangju, Masan-Changwon, and Pusan established 'the Hot Line for Equality' in September, 1995. Since that, we have given a higher number of counselling services for irregular workers who cannot join trade unions and receive much lower wages than regular workers.
5. Strategies for Taking Systemic Reaction to Issues of Irregular Women Workers
In the Korean patriarchy which discriminates women workers, it is certain that women workers will be the first of being victimized as well as having a high level of job insecurity, if the systems of dispatched employment, variable work hours are introduced and protections against laid-off are softened. WWAs have decided to solve this situation through the following action strategies;
5.1 Policy changes of the government are needed for the promotion of employment and job security for women. WWAs demand that irregular employment should be restricted and employment of irregular workers who continue to work over three(3) months should be upgraded as the regular base.
5.2 Trade unions should take urgent action to enable irregular workers to join unions.
5.3 On-going and well-organised solidarity activities are necessary to provide the same legal protections for irregular workers as regular workers have.
5.4 WWAs take actions against the dispatched employment system.
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