Unpaid wages; illegal and unjust layoffs due to bankruptcy and discontinuance of business; analysis of 348 recent(Jan-April) calls to the 'phone of equality'

This is a summary of the counselling calls that were registered in the Seoul, Inchon, and Pusan areas at the 'phone of equality,' a counselling agency that specializes in women's employment. 348 total calls were registered at the 'phone of equality' (repeat calls and employment advice calls are excluded).

188 calls which reflects the highest percentage of calls, were about unpaid wages. Of these 188 calls, 91 calls (48.4%) were about unpaid wages due to bankruptcy and discontinuance of businesses, displaying the seriousness of effects from the IMF.

Calls about unjust layoffs were the second highest, representing 26% of the calls. Regarding the different aspects of unjust layoffs, layoffs due to the reduction of the entire work force took up the highest percentage with 28.6%. Of these 73.1% were in the form of advised retirement. In 1998 calls related to employment rose sharply while calls related to discrimination (3.7% discriminatory promotions and pay) and sexual harassment(3.7%) were relatively down.

Excluding callers who chose not to answer questions, calls from married females numbered around 70%, while calls from the unorganized labor force sector amounted to 78.6% of the total calls, showing that the suffering of married female workers in the unorganized labor force sector is very serious.

Also, dismissed women who are heads of their households have a much tougher time making a living. The absence of any countermeasures to combat female unemployment leaves them with no other options. For 2 months (from March to April) 422 job applications were submitted to the employment centers in the areas of Seoul, Inchon, and Pusan, showing the will of the women to find jobs.

However, there is still very little work and it is tough to find a job. The situation is even worse for married female workers over 40 who have lost their jobs, especially because the recent trend is to employ women under 35 to work as waitresses, domestic workers and nurses.

• Examples of the types of counselling calls

  1. Unpaid wages due to deteriorating businesses. Intentionally unpaid wages on the rise

     Because of our country's subcontracting system and also because small factories usually have very little capital and are usually subcontracted, unpaid wages are not an unusal phenomenon. However, the situation has become much more frequent and serious.

     Chronically delayed payments by companies are threatening the livelihood of poor workers, and intentionally delayed payments by corrupt, self-interested management are also a problem.

     I am 35 and have spent 10 years working at a sewing machine. I left my 2 children at a nursery and entered a factory with about 20 workers. I had to quit because the company would not pay me for over 2 months. The company kept on telling me to wait, saying the company was in a bad situation. Because of the high cost of the nursery I thought about staying home to save money, but my husband, who works and gets paid by the day, began to get less and less work. I just could not sit around while the situation got worse and worse. So I got another job but again the company would not pay us for over 2 months. Even though we thought about organizing ourselves to demand our pay, nobody wanted to take the risk at a time when it's tough to get another job. We've just been worrying. Before, we could take breaks and talk to each other which partially relieved our stress, but now the atmosphere is so cold that everyone just works.

     I've worked for 3 years at a company in Masan. Of the 56 workers, 10 workers have been laid off and 2 have voluntarily retired. The company has paid me only for being fired but has not paid the retirement pay for over a month. Is there any way I can get it?

     My company shut down 12/28/97 and went bankrupt 01/05/98 but changed the name and president and opened up another company close by with 80 of the 130 original workers and is currently in operation. I have not received a month's pay, incentives or any retirement pay. Can I get it?

     I work at a manufacturing company with 6 workers. The company's in bad condition so we get paid only about once every 2 months. I have worked for 4 months without pay and can't do it any longer. I know the situation of the company but I just can't work without pay. Will reporting it do any good?

  2. Unjust layoffs and unjust labor practices have become much more diverse in form

     Counselling revealed the fact that workers did not know the exact legal standards for layoffs. The legalization of dismissals does not necessarily mean that anyone can be fired at will, but the reality is that anyone can be fired with just the words, "The company is in danger."

     Especially in small factories and places without labor unions, the method most often used is to force workers to retire. Since they are retiring for 'personal reasons,' they are not eligible for unemployment pensions. If a direct discharge is difficult, workers are subject to illegal labor practices such as downgrades to irregular work and changes of job positions.

     I am a 62 year old female worker who entered a sewing factory which employs about 55-60 workers. I was 15 days short of working a year when I injured my arm on January the 5th and returned to work on the 4th of March. But I was fired on the 14th of March, I was told it was because I was too old and that there were already too many workers. My monthly pay was 550,000won but after deducting retirement funds and medical insurance, my actual pay was about 480000-500000won. I haven't received any pay for my last ten days of work, and they said that I wasn't eligible for retirement pay.

     H company employs about 300 workers and the 20 female workers work at accounting, calculation, and clerical work. Suddenly the company told us that all female workers would do contract work from now on and that we could leave the company if we didn't like it. They also told us that male workers who get low evaluation points would be contracted workers. But isn't it unjust to turn all female workers to contract workers without any provision?

     I work at a sewing company and a few months ago, because the company was in trouble, I started working extra hours from 9 to 10 p.m. without extra pay. There used to be about 30 workers but now 15 do all the work. The president doesn't hire anyone new workers. My child is still young and it's not easy. Even the president's family comes to work because the company is in danger and I'm confused as to what to do. What should I do?

  3. Unjust discriminatory layoffs still going on

     23 female workers at the Seoul research center and the Kwangju plant of XX electronics were forced to retire without prior notice. Most were married including 2 who were on leave because of pregnancy. They tried to buy them over with promises of 3 months pay and bonuses and attempted to buy out and even threaten pregnant workers, stressing that they were pregnant. The female workers who were notified collectively retaliated, reported it to the Ministry of Labor and even sent the story out on the newspaper but can't seem to find a solution to their problem.

     I work at a communications company and the company reduced 20% of it's labor force. 3 people in my division were layed off and all were women. I was 9 months pregnant so I couldn't do anything. Can I receive unemployment pensions?

  4. Female heads of families lose their jobs! Livelihood endangered

     Ms. Kim, who lives in a rental apartment and is raising 2 disabled kids, is 40 years old, divorced, and the female head of her family. She leads a hard life. Her daughter is in the 6th grade. She is handicapped and her brother is suffering from cerebral palsy. He is in treatment at a rehabilitation center. Ms Kim has worked diligently at companies that make buttons, towels, and accessories to make a living. But 3 months ago when she moved to her current apartment, she had to quit her last job. She hasn't been able to find another job for months since the IMF struck last December.

     Ms. Jang is 48 years old and the female head of family. She lives in the southern part of Inchon. She lost her husband 20 years ago and currently lives with her daughter who is a college freshmen. She worked at H department store in the health food corner as a dispatched worker until she was fired in November '97, She is a high school graduate who at one time attended a broadcasting and communications college. She has worked at various sales positions at Daewoo electronics, department stores, and personal businesses but even though she did her best she cries out that she has not been able to find a job because she is old and has been married.

Min Na Park(Editorial staff of Seoul Women Workers Association)

 Much time has passed and the world has changed. The Seoul Women Workers Association is also making a change. It has introduced a sabbatical system in which staff members are eligble to take a sabbatical year after working 7 years.

The first person to benefit is Shon Young-ju, the general secretary of the Seoul Women Workers Association (SWWA). Although the SWWA is always short of hands due to their heavy workload, Son Young-ju will leave the organization for one year to take her sabbatical.

She has always wanted an opportunity to take a break from the demanding pace of her work life in order to recharge and rejuvenate herself. Now, she has that opportunity. Although she feels somewhat apologetic when her colleagues congratulate her since she knows that they, too, would benefit from a sabbatical, she cannot help but smile.

• The adolescence of the sum jin river swot

  I met with Shon Young-Ju and looked at the personal statement she wrote at the age of 34. She has fond memories of her childhood. She grew up in a rural village in the mountains until she was six years old.

  She lived in a house on the Kyung Nam Ha Dong hillside along the Sum Jin river. Many big and small toads used to jumped across the large yard behind her house. She remembers the time a snake crawled over her foot as she stepped out of her house. Startled and horrified, she did not move at all and the snake simply slithered away.

  She also remembers suffering each time she had to go to the toilet. The toilets in mountain villages used to be raised above pig pens. Everytime she had to shit, she looked down and saw pigs grunting. When she reflects back on her childhood memories, she remembers them like a series of black and white photos. Her childhood is filled with many memorable experiences that have helped her endure struggles and hardships later in life.

  Shon Young-Ju was an exemplary student throughout elementary school and high school. She studied hard and had a good personality. Unlike most of her peers, she was not interested in pop songs or folk songs. She had a difficult time expressing her emotions to others and she often poured her heart out to her diary. In the 9th grade, she distinctly remembers the worries of one of her teachers.

  She and her best friend had been close since elementary school. They spent much time together and went everywhere together. Her teacher thought that she and her best friend were lesbians. So, the teacher acted like their shadow, constantly following them around. Their friendship almost ended.

  She liked drawing and she received many awards. She was also interested in Korean Studies, especially in ancient writings. In 1984 she was admitted into college, where she started studying Chinese characters. In college, she worked for Jung Jung Hun (a women's magazine) and began studying problems regarding gender and society such as sexual discrimination which were somewhat distant from her previous interests and concerns.

  She traces her deep-rooted interest in and affection towards the problems of women to this period. Much of her existing knowledge strictly came from the things that she was taught in school. She even remembers the day when she attended school in tears, grief-stricken over the death of the former president Park Chung-hee.

  For her it was hard to understand the anti-social resistance consciousness of her friends or the older students. Ironically, she started studying social science in order to change their distorted viewpoint. As she was telling me this, she laughed.

• The meaning of her tears due to Park Chung Hee's death

  She knew very little about society; however, through her experiences she began understanding the world very differently. During November of her third year, she joined a demonstration held in the street to protest labor abuses and remind others to remember Chun Tae-il's spirit and his struggles.

  She was arrested and taken to the Noryangjin Police Station. They brutally assaulted her and beat the soles of her feet a hundred times. After 4 months, she was released from jail under "house arrest." Whenever she remembers the inhumane violence and brutal treatment that she endured during her months in jail, she shudders. However, her imprisonment made her stronger.

  Her parents also began to understand their daughter better while watching her struggles in court. After she was released, she worked actively towards creating a women's association that promoted the need for an independent women's association in school. She poured blood, sweat and tears towards this endeavor.

  However, even in the student movement, patriarchal ways of thinking were deeply rooted in students' consciousnesses. Most of her female comrades quit. Many left home to live by themselves. They struggled to take care of themselves.

  Lighting the coal of the briquet fire required too much energy and strength. Thus, many of the students who realized how much energy it took to live together and away from home quit. But, even though they gave up, she continued to work in the women's organization. During this time, she endured much physical, mental and emotional pain.

  One day while attending a speech given by Baek Gi Wan, a human rights activist, at Boramae Park, her parents and her two brothers came looking for her. They found her at the park and forced her to come home, putting her under another "house arrest" but this time one which was ordered by her father.

  Her father told her if Roe Tae Woo becomes the president, then there is no need for her to continue participating in the student movement. Roh Tae Woo is a common man, like him, so there is no need to continue fighting against the government. After Roh Tae Woo became president, she was imprisoned at home. Although she was stuck at home, she used this time to rest, reflect and reorganize her thoughts.

  During her entire fourth year, she did not work in the students association. With graduation ahead of her she felt burdened to move on to her next step - a working site. At that time she was more interested in rural, agricultural district areas and villages than the labor movement.

  She wanted to bring the problems and issues of women to the public. Thus, she spent one year working in a publishing company specializing in publishing books called "Deung eh" about women problems. When she looks back upon that time, she sees it as a time in which she was preparing to go to the work site.

• Worries of a student activist worker

  She started working at an electric subcontracting company. 70 total workers including her were employed at this company. She and one other person were the only single workers. All the other workers were married. Meeting her married women co-workers gave her an opportunity to rethink many problems related to women workers. Her work experience has helped her in her later work at SWWA.

  However, working in a site where she had no organized connections was extremely difficult and lonely. For the first 6 months she could not get close to anybody. In addition, the work was physically tough. She began questioning her intentions, her commitment and even her politics.

  Perhaps like the mistakes of many other student activist workers, the thought that she had chosen this road to bury her petty bourgeois nature rather than to settle down as a worker distressed and shamed her. Later on, she even started being suspicious of herself thinking, "What if I don't see the workers as human? What if I start to see them as mechanical and I fail to help them see themselves as the main force of the revolution?"

  This thought ailed and shook her. She cried every night. Finally, she left the work site, almost running away. After leaving in such disarray and distress, she lost all her self-confidence. She felt defeated.

  She regretted participating in the movement, though she could not possibly imagine what else she would have done. However, through persistent self- examination, reflection and a sincere effort to overcome her problems, she started concentrating again on the specific problems related to women workers and rejoined the movement.

• Breaking into the Seoul Women Workers Association!

  In November 1991, she wrote her own letter of introduction and started working at the Seoul Women Workers Association. For the past eight years she has devoted her time, energy and commitment to the SWWA. She feels that the decision to start working for SWWA was the best choice she has ever made.

  When she started working, she still felt trauma from her experiences on the work site. However, from the very start, there was something about SWWA that made her feel warm and at ease. She also settled in well with the work she was given. Personally and privately, she continued to think about what specific contributions she could make to the movement.After a year, she was given work regarding educational planning. She organized the first program on the nature of problems related to women.

  It was held in one of the labor organizations. Although she was incredibly nervous for it was the first time she ever stood in front of a public audience, in general, the lecture went fine. She felt rapport with the participants and could join them in the struggle.

  She felt content that she could give and share something with others. The work that she did in the educational department was not easy. Although she was training and teaching others, she realized that she was one being trained.

  She felt alive through her work with women workers. Though these experiences, she slowly started to rebuild her sense of self-confidence. During her time at SWWA, one of the biggest events occurred in 1995. Lee Young Soon, the director of the municipal SWWA was elected as a representative of the municipal assembly during the local autonomy system municipality election.

  This event brought a qualitative upswing to the women workers movements. Remaining within the bounds of the electoral law, all the members helped both materially and mentally in the effort to get Lee Young Soon elected. Their collective effort strengthened unity and solidarity.

  For the women workers movement, it was an opportunity after the 70s to see the newly established electoral system as a way to continue working in the movement. It gave various options for elders who worked without being shaken or swayed throughout the entire movement.

• Her Passion runs as deep as her Worries

  In July, Shon Young-Ju was appointed as the general secretary of SWWA. Although she had already been given much responsibility as the director of education, she worried whether she could fulfill this role well. Also, to her, 1996 was a critical year. She was extremely burned-out. She easily got tired.

  It became tougher and tougher for her to open up her heart and understand as her faith in her colleagues weakened. She was continually exhausted by her never-ending work and she began losing her composure. At the same time she started doubting her ability to do good work and started to lose confidence in herself again.

  She started thinking to herself, "Should I stop working with SWWA?" This was probably the toughest time of her whole life. She began evaluating her job and the conditions she needed to work under to be productive.

  One day she realized that the situation had come to a head and that she could not work on education anymore. In the summer of 1997, she got tired of the mechanical aspects of her work and the endless administrative tasks. She felt the need to take a break to recharge herself.

  One day she remembers lecturing on the subject of problems of men. However, she was not focused. She had lost all her interest. Even more, there was no mutual response from the participants. Her lecture did not include any new content.

  She also felt she was simply repeating the same things that were said before. She never felt such emptiness, lethargy and vanity as the moment she walked out of the hall, leaving the sound of applause behind. She realized that it is impossible to be satisfied with other matters if one is not satisfied with oneself.

  She decided never to work on education ever again. She felt that if she continued working without passion or commitment, she would be a danger not a help to the organization as well as herself.

• In anticipation to be rejuvenated as a refreshed activist

  Son Young-Ju smiles from ear-to-ear as she tells me she is a lucky person. With the help of Rhie Chol Soon, the chairman of Korean Women Workers Associations United, she will take an entire year off to rest and study English in the Philippines on a CCFD scholarship given to her a good chance.

  She knows she was worked very hard over the past 7 years, but she feels rather burdened when she considers the fact that many of her seniors have worked even harder and longer with much effort and sincerity. She pledges to use her sabbatical wisely, while rejuvenating and re-energizing herself.

  She does not want to let the organization and her co-workers down and she endeavors to become a good example for the younger members of the organization. After she finishes the first half year of work at the end of July, she will leave for the Philippines.

  First, she will take a language course and take a look at other organizations of women workers in the Philippines. Specifically, she wants to better understand women's identity as women workers and research this as a new area to be explored in the Women Workers movement.

  Thus, her sabbatical year will not just be filled with absent-minded rest and leisure. She knows the time will be precious, even more so because she knows that it is impossible to make time stand still.

  She smiles with the hope that after one year, she will be able to rejevenate herself with enthusiasm for life, unite everyone together, and continue to participate as an activist in the women workers movement. And she thanks the supporting organization for giving her opportunity to improve her capacity for movement work in the future.

Sun-mi Choi (Dong Hae Business Union treasurer)

"Will we see this oil stove again when winter comes?" I murmur these sad word to myself as the company requests for the stove to be returned.