[Proclamation by Women's Labor Politic Action]

We hope the new president to keep her promises and to be royal to people!

The very basic quality for a national leader is to keep her or his promises. The promises should not be empty pledges for taking the position. In this light, we like to make sure of the women workers' related pledges of Park Keun-hye who claims herself as women's president, and hope to make suggestion of detailed feasible ways, as well. We at the Women's Labor Politic Action (WLPA) will continue monitoring if she will keep her pledges well or not.

1. To cultivate 100,000 women talents until the year of 2017:

- Drastically escalating the ratio of women ministers and women members of governmental committees.

- Introducing the Quota System for Women in Management in the public sector and reflecting the evaluation index.

- Introducing gender quota systems to employ higher number of women professors and women principals.

- Establishing academies for women talents.

-> Unfortunately, the above-mentioned pledges don't show specific percentages. There should be specific percentages and detailed methods in each item by stage.

2. To increase women's employment rates through the implement of proactive employment measures:

- Affirmatively reforming employment measures through the expansion of employment standard for women workers (currently, the employment rate of women workers and managers is to be increased 60% to 70%).

- Benefiting the good companies which practice affirmative employment measures.

- Publicizing the list of the companies which don't observe recommendations of correction.

-> the scope of affirmative employment measures should be expanded. In addition, the penalties as well as the lists of companies who don't follow recommendation of correction should be publicized. Furthermore, types of employment should be included to evaluate the affirmative employment measures.

3. Comprehensive childcare support measures:

- Paid working hour reduction: 2 working hour reduction a day during the 12 week pregnancy and after the 36 week pregnancy.

- Recommending males' one month parental leave after childbirth (100% paid).

- Providing consumer-tailored childcare services.

- Expanding 24 hours childcare services.

- 100% supporting childcare tuition fees for infants between 0 ~2 years old, and increasing home care allowances.

- Increasing supports for children aged 3~5.

- Increasing the number of childcare centers (Newly setting up 50 national or public childcare centers; converting 100 existing centers to national or public childcare centers; and increasing public-inspired childcare centers.

-> There should be more detailed methods to obtain related budgets. It is needed to gain the public nature of childcare as a basic element and to provide phased strategies, as well. The government should also legalize and provide feasible measures for males' one-month parental leave.

4. Comprehensive national supports for women's economic activities:

-> But preventative measures not ex-post facto measures are needed to prevent women's career breaks as a primary policy direction. The government should endeavor to prevent career breaks and help women use women's maternity leave and parental leave very freely in practice.

5. Establishing the employment practice for changing irregular workers to regular ones:

- Practical employment security should be provided for irregular workers who works at full-time and continual bases.

- Irregular workers working at full-time and continual bases should be converted to regular workers from the public sector until the year of 2015.

- Encouraging large companies to convert irregular workers to regular ones.

-> The Act on the Protection of Fixed-term and Part-time Employees should include the restrictions to the reasons for using irregular workers. In the case of large companies, since indirect employment rather than directly-employed irregular employment has continued a trend of increase, tighter regulations are needed. Detailed policies for converting to regular workers are needed. The government should refer to the case of converting Seoul metropolitan irregular workers to regular ones in terms of the conversion of irregular workers to regular ones in the public sector.

6. Protection of in-company outsourced workers:

- Enacting the In-company Outsourced Workers Protection Act to prevent discriminatory treatment against in-company outsourced workers although their jobs are the same typed as or similar to those of regular workers of mother companies.

- Ensuring the employment of in-company outsourced workers in case they maintain the same jobs, although their outsourced company owner is changed when their contracts expire.

- Administrative orders are made to make mother company directly employ outsourced workers, when illegally outsourced companies are confirmed again under special employment investigations targeting the workplaces that the court determines illegal outsourcing company.

-> There is a great possibility that the above stated pledges can provoke irregular employment because the pledges can allow illegal outsourcing. It is needed to encourage regular employment and to reduce the size of in-company outsourced employment. Recently, the workers who had received the recognition of illegal outsourcing in the Hyundai Motors by the court were on strike on the very dangerous steel tower. The government should carry out the special employment investigation into the Hyundai Motors and take an immediate measure for direct employment.

7. Expansion of the application of social insurances to irregular workers:

- The government will 100% support employment insurance and national pension for irregular workers receiving less than 1.3 million Won (as of 2013), in order to expand the application of social insurances.

-> There is a need to expand applicable company sizes. Presently, the application is regulated for the workers working at the very small companies employing less than 10 workers. However, the scope should be expanded to those employing less than 30 workers. In addition, more precise details should be needed including when the measure will be taken.

8. Expansion of industrial insurance and employment insurance for specially hired workers:

- Expanding the social safety nets for specially hired workers through designing industrial insurance and employment insurance tailored to specially hired workers.

- Protecting the working conditions of specially hired workers through making it compulsory to make standard contracts with specially hired workers.

-> It is necessary to take positive look at the right to work for specially hired workers. Expanding industrial insurance and employment insurance to some specially hired workers is just the tip of iceberg. It is needed for the government to take fundamental measures for them to obtain their right to work. 88CC golf caddies and agency private tutors have continued fighting for their rights for 5 years, whose cases should be settled promptly.

9. Protecting workers' basic livelihood through increasing the minimum wage:

- When the minimum wage is determined, economic growth rate and commodity price increase rate should be basically reflected, and the situations of the labor market and income distribution adjustments will also be taken into account. Standard increases in the minimum wage will be prepared after the above mentioned factors are considered.

- Labor investigation will be reinforced in order to completely implement the minimum wage system in the workplace, and punitive compensations will be introduced to the owner who pay less than minimum wages.

-> Minimum wage system affects women workers a lot. It is needed to present how to reflect economic growth rates, commodity increase rates and income distribution adjustments. It is needed to think over how to stabilize workers' real livelihoods.

10. Running all-day care classes at the elementary school:

- Introducing 'All-day care classes' that schools take care of children until 5pm.

- Extending the running of the 'All-day care classes' to 10pm.

- Consolidating the liaison with local children's centers to share the supplies in shortage, and setting up public and secondary school students' additional facilities.

-> The mentioned pledges aims at the implementation of the 'All-day care classes' by stage, but there are no budgets available. It is needed to show in details regarding how to prepare budgets for free after-school programs and all-day care classes. Recently, teachers of after-school care class programs haven't been paid 1,000,000 won as their personnel yet. The government also thinks over how to improve the quality of jobs of after-school care classes teachers.

11. Improving the treatments for care service workers:

- Installing systematic management systems through standardizing types of care services and wage systems, and providing practical standards for care service consumers.

- Establishing basic statistics information systems in terms of service supply & demand and its perspectives, suppliers and employment agencies, number of workers, types of employment, and wages and working hours.

-> The above are said to be associated with the improvement of the treatments for care service workers, but the problem is that there is no specific improvement of the treatments for care service workers. It is needed to present feasible alternatives such as the ensuring of living wages for care service workers and the improvement of working conditions, and how to apply social insurances for them. It is needed to think over how to achieve the public nature of care services. In addition, the Labor Standard Act should be reformed because it excludes household workers from the groups of workers, and the ILO Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers should also be ratified, as two crucial tasks.

12. Expanding maternity leaves and parental leaves for women:

- Expanding the using of less-than-one-year parental leave for up to 3rd year of primary schoolers, but presently only the using for pre-primary schoolers (6 year children by Western age) is available.

- Expanding ‘post-pregnancy-and-post-natal continual employment support fund,' 'parental leave grants,' and 'alternative workforce employment grants' for irregular women.

-> Presently maternity leave and parental leave systems are legally well-organized in Korea, but women workers have difficulties using them in practice. In many cases, women workers have to leave the labor market even before their using maternity leaves. Needed is special measures to establish maternity leave and parental leave well in practice. Especially, irregular workers have to leave their jobs at the same time as their pregnancies because their owners to give them an excuse for their contracts to expire. It is needed to maintain job security for pregnant irregular women workers.

Park Keun-hye made a promise for her to work "like a mom who work hard to encourage all of her children not to starve." We hope she can work hard to serve people well to keep her promises, for her five years.

Women's Labor Politic Action

consisting of Korean Women Workers' Association & Korean Women Trade Union

'We are pro-style~,' 12-12-12 International Campaign for Home Care Workers:
"Ratify ILO Convention on fundamental human rights for domestic workers!!

On last December 5 when heavy snow was forecasted, people started to gather at the Kwang-wha-moon Square against the dark gray sky.

People wearing an apron and a hood are in a row, dancing passionately to the rhythm of one of the hottest music, 'Kangnam Style.' The people changed the lyrics to 'We are pro-style,' a version for home care workers, and sang and danced together.

"We are the women managing houses/ We are the leaders trying to removing social prejudices/ We are happy when the ILO Convention is to be ratified/ We are women doing such great activities.

We are women workers/ We are firm workers/ We work so hard in the workplaces/ We are professional workers working passionately/ We are women workers

Ratify the ILO Convention/ Yeah that's you HEY, Yeah That's you That's you Hey/ Ratify the ILO Convention/ Yeah that's you HEY, Yeah That's you That's you Hey/ Let's carry on until it's completed/ We're pro-style, pro-style/ We're pro-style, pro-style."

Why they were dancing at the Kwang-wha-moon Square on the snowy day was to demand the government to ratify 'The ILO Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers,' as part of 12-12-12 International Campaign for Home Care Workers. Last year, the The ILO Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers was passed with exclusive agreement in its 100th general assembly. However, the Korean government delayed the expression of its clear view and just said that it would need time to ratify the ILO Convention and reform the related Labor Standard Act, although home care workers are not covered by the Labor Standard Act.

That's why home care workers including household workers, care workers, and in-home nursing workers were gathering together and calling for the ratification of the ILO Convention, on that day, expressing their demands through their bodies. The 50 home care workers had a joyous and happy time although it was snowing a lot.

People were very happy because their laughters were echoing at the Kwang-wha-moon Square as well as the blessing of snowflakes were falling a lot, which seems to predict our victory in 2013.

[Declamation]

The 18th Korean president, ratify the ILO Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers!

Do you know there are approximately 500,000 home care workers engaged in care service sectors such as household workers, baby sitting workers, care workers, postpartum health care workers, and geriatric care specialists?

An increasing number of women engaged in economic activities as well as a higher number of nuclear families and aged population, have caused both of the crisis in social care and socialization of care services, at the same time. The creation of decent jobs in the care service sector is regarded as crucial tasks in our society. For this, of course, we should cope with the social hazards such as the crisis in social care and employment insecurity in the sector.

About 300,000 workers in the informal sector who are dispatched to individual families are classified as 'domestic helpers' whom the Labor Standard Act does not cover, nor do industrial accident insurance and employment insurance, and basic social safety nets for working people.

Care workers are also workers because they work on the purpose of earning money. As needs for care services are increasing in our society, there have been an increasing number of care workers, too. We believe it is against the current of the time not to cover in-home care workers with the Labor Act though, on the ground of Clause No. 11 of the Labor Standard Act, 'Exclusion of domestic helpers,' and since the contract relationship is unclear and the government intervention is difficult because care labor usually takes place in a private space, individual home. However, the Labor Standard Act were enacted 60 years ago, which cannot cover new and modern matters.

Last year, in the 100th ILO general assembly, ‘The ILO Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers,’ the last crucial issue in the international labor society was exclusively agreed, which means that the world recognized the nondiscriminatory and equal labor right of the total number of 100 million in-home workers and guaranteed of social security rights such as industrial hazard and employment insurances. Currently, 4 countries such as the Philippines, Uruguay, Mauritius, and Nicaragua have completed their ratification of the convention, and more than 10 countries like Germany, Italy and Singapore are under discussion. However, Korea voted for the convention in the ILO general assembly, but the government has not made any comment about the ratification nor taken any step since the adaptation of the convention in the international arena.

Under this situation, in last August, 15 assembly members belonging to Saenuri Party, Democratic United Party (DUP), and United Progressive Party (UPP) proposed ‘The ILO Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Unprecedentedly, the Foreign Affairs & Unification Committee approved it with the exclusive agreement. This shows the legal protection of 'home care workers' who had been classified in the informal workers so far and placed in the blind spot of the Labor Act, is a very urgent task in these times, beyond party interests.

" Consideration and Respect“ towards caring are the important values for overcoming and curing the social hazards of neo-liberalism which is on the basis of competition and zero-sum game. Therefore, we believe care work, viewed as not that profitable in the labor market, should be protected by the nation and society, and the quality of care work should also be insured by the society. We believe providing better working conditions for care workers is the way to enhance the quality of social care. The protection of labor rights of care workers makes contribution to the creation of more decent jobs and the changing of our society to a warmer and healthier caring society.

The presidential election day is just around the corner. We, home care workers firmly demand the presidential candidates that the ILO Convention should be the first international convention that the 18th Korean president would ratify. We also strongly called for the protection of labor rights of home care workers through the reform of the Labor Standard Act and Society Insurance Act.

December 5, 2012

Korean Care workers NGO Network
The Korean Care workers NGO Network is a solidarity organizations composed of 18 organizations.

Women Workers Policy Tasks for 2012 Presidential Election

Aims of 5 Policies:

① Decrease the gender wage gap to the average level in OECD countries.

② Decrease the number of women irregular workers to half.

③ Increase women's employment rate to the average level in OECD countries.

④ Create our society for ensuring to balance jobs and family matters through the protection of maternity and parental rights.

⑤ Reinforce women worker related administration to remove the legal blind spots.

15 Policy Tasks:

1. Decrease the gender wage gap to the average level in OECD countries.

▶ Current situations:

- In 2009, the gender wage gap in Korea was 38.9%, which was the worst amongst OECD countries. Low wage workers amongst women wageworkers in Korea accounted for 42.7% which is the two times higher than the average in OECD countries. In Korea higher than level 4 women public officials comprised only 7.4% and women directors working at 10 biggest Korean companies simply 1.3%. However, many European countries such as Norway and France have already implemented affirmative action for comprising 40% women directors.

▶Demands:

① Increase the minimal wage to 50% of the average of monthly wages and expand the assistance in 4 social insurance fees.

- Legal reforms should be carried out to increase the minimal wages to 50% of the average of monthly wages and to provide assistances in social insurance fees for covering the all workers whose wages are 130% of the minimal wages regardless of company sizes. In particular, social insurance fee assistances are very important for the welfare of women irregular workers who often experience discrimination. However, it should be changed and improved since the scope of the assistance is too narrow. The increase to 50% of the average of monthly wage and the expansion of social insurance fee assistances will contribute to the improvement of poor working conditions, too.

② Ensure that public social service jobs should be paid 80% of the average of wages (about 1.6 million Won)

- Low paying social services jobs hired by the government should receive 80% (about 1.6 million Won) of average wages (2.1 million Won, as to August 2012 according to the Statistics Korea). For example, the first paycheck was 1.55 million Won for the Seoul Metropolitan local government's workers who were changed from the position of irregular workers. Currently, there are an increasing number of part-time jobs available to the women who are in their 50s and 60s. They usually work for their livelihood. This is because decent jobs are not easily available to them. When public and social service jobs can be upgraded to decent jobs, this will generate women's higher participation in economic activities, and then this will lead our country to a welfare nation with high quality of social services.

③ Allocate 30% for women directors in the public sector:

③-1. Implement affirmative action for women to comprise 30% directors in the public sector and 20% in the private sector.

③-2. Mandatorily publicize the situations of women directors in the public and private sector and research how to improve them.

- In 2010, in Korea, high-ranking women public officials accounted for only 2.4% and women managers with over level 4 comprised only 7.4%. In 2007 Korean introduced the affirmative action for increasing women directors in the public sector to more than 30%, but it hasn't gained fruits. In addition, in the private sector women directors accounted for only 6.8% in 2010, and further, the companies which don't have any women directors comprised 68.9%. However, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands introduced the affirmative action which has contributed to the increases in the number of women directors. Increasing women directors in the public and private sectors is to improve human diversities and to give more equal gender opportunities. To promote equal corporate cultures has a positive impact on recruiting excellent human resources and enhancing corporate images.

2. Decline the number of women irregular workers to half.

▶ Current situations:

Irregular women workers accounted for 61.8% (as on 2011), which is 1.5 times higher than male workers. Since 2008, while male irregular workers has been decreasing, the number of women workers has been rising. This shows women irregular workers are put in the blind spot of the Temporary Employee Protection Act. Moreover, there have been a higher number of part-time jobs, which is the worst case amongst irregular jobs. Up to 1.32 million women workers are involved in part time work, which shows the deteriorating situation of irregular women workers.

▶Demands:

④ Regularize 100% of irregular workers and ban outsourcing jobs: Regularize 100% of irregular workers in the public sector like schools and ban outsourcing jobs.

- The ratio(27.2%) of women irregular workers in the public sector is two times as high as males (13.4%), and that (19.3%) of women irregular workers working at central administrative institutions is 3~4 times higher than males (5.3%). In particular, women irregular workers account for 95% out of 150,000 irregular workers working at schools. Women irregular workers working at schools should start to be regularized. In addition, women's jobs get highly outsourced, because there are so many tedious work in the public sector that the government wants to avoid from regularizing irregular workers. From the public sector outsourcing jobs should be banned.

⑤ Ban using irregular workers: Ban using irregular workers and acknowledge that outsourced workers belong to mother companies.

- When the reasons for using irregular workers are controlled, the number of women irregular workers will be shrunk. In addition, in case of dispatching and outsourcing companies, accknowledging that outsourced and dispatched workers belong to mother companies will lead to the improvement of working conditions and employment safety.

⑥ Cover specially employed workers and household workers with the Labor Standard Act: Reform 'the Labor Standard Act' to acknowledge that specially employed workers and informal household workers are also workers.

- Up to the number of 416,000 specially employed women workers and 300,000 household workers are not accepted as workers. Even though they are hurt or lose their jobs, they are not able to be covered with industrial accident insurance or unemployment insurance. If the reform of the Labor Standard Act realizes that specially employed workers and household workers are also workers, they can be protected by laws and the number of irregular workers will be reduced.

⑦ Install Employment Welfare Fund for women irregular workers.

- There are increasing part-time workers mainly amongst youth in their 10s and 20s and old women in their 50s and 60s. 83.2% of them do not have employment insurance. In particular, women juveniles usually work in very small size companies, and so many of them are exposed to sexual harassment. Additionally, they can be allured into entertainment spots due to their livelihood. In order to help them enter to the labor market safely without their giving up their dreams, the government should install the Employement Welfare Fund to assist them and contribute to the improvement of discriminatory working conditions of irregular workers.

3. Increase women's employment rate to the average level in OECD countries.

▶ Current Situations:

In 2009 women's employment rate amongst those at age of 25~29 is 65.6%, far higher compared to other age groups and higher than the average (63.8%) in OECD countries. However, women's employment rate between the age of 30~ 34 is just 50.1%, which is much lower compared to the average (63.4%) in OECD countries. As of 2009, if Korean women's employment rate of the age group of 30~39 were the same as male employment rate, it would be expected to increase the total employment rates for women by 8.4% and decrease the gender employment gap.

▶Demands:

⑧ Install parental leave treatment one-stop windows: Ensure maternity leave and parental leave for irregular women workers and women working in very small-size companies.

- Irregular women workers and women working at very small-size companies don't receive 90 day maternity leave. That's because it is compulsory to get company owners' consents, even though maternity leave is legally ensured. However, it is very difficult for women workers, the social weak, to get maternity leave from company owners, without help from any trade unions which are generally not established at very small-size companies. Therefore, we believe one-stop window for treating maternity leave and parental leave should be installed to apply for maternity leave and parental leave easily, rather than talking to company owners directly. In the window, maternity protection counselors should be available to give suitable consultation to company owners and workers and to protect maternity leave and parental leave for women. This system will enable women to prevent their career breaks and stabilize the employment of women in their 30s.

⑨ Create social service jobs two times higher.

- Working women in low income family or of two paycheck couples have difficulties in balancing their jobs and family affairs, but social and public services for supporting them are not sufficient enough or largely lacking. It is necessary to have strategies for jumping into a welfare nation through providing public care services such as care for women in childbed, household work and child care, in order to reduce the burden of parents and prevent women's career breaks. The French government issues employment cheques and creates jobs in order to facilitate individual services and balance jobs and family matters. In particular, issuing childcare and household vouchers to single parents and two paycheck couples contributes to job creation in the public service sector and raising healthy children.

⑩ Newly install the right of urgent protection for sexual harassment victims in the workplace: Newly install the right of urgent protection for sexual harassment victims in the workplace and counseling & healing programs and punish attackers.

- According to a national survey (targeting 2,351 persons working at service companies whose employees are less than 30 persons), one out of 7 workers experience sexual harassment, and many of them are disadvantaged like stopping working (KWWA, 2012). However, the present law doesn't stipulate any detailed protection measures for sexual harassment victims or any punishment for attackers, either. Further, workers working at the very small companies employing less than 10 people are put in the blind spot of sexual harassment preventative education because sexual harassment education is compulsory for only the companies employing more than 10 workers, although sexual harassment often occur in the very small companies. It should be mandatory to provide urgent protection rights and counseling & healing programs for sexual harassment victims and punish attackers. The government should provide and assist sexual harassment preventative education up to the small size companies employing less than 10 workers. The expansion of sexual harassment preventative education and the protection of victims also contribute to the stabilization of women's employment.

4. Create a happy society for balancing jobs and family matters through the ensuring of maternity and paternity leave.

▶ Situations:

Korea has the annual average of 2,256 work hours, which is the world's longest. Since 1995 when Korea joined the OECD, Korea has been recorded as the nation with the longest working hours. The long hours culture is a factor to discourage people from balancing their jobs and family affairs, and to make Korean women become super women who have to take care of their jobs and family matters. all. That's why Korean working women's life satisfaction is lower than housewives.

▶Demands:

⑪ Provide one-month compulsory paternity leave for male workers: provide one-month compulsory paternity for male workers and support alternative manpower to those taking maternity and parental leave.

- One month paternity leave should be compulsory to men until their infants become one year old. Men's childcare experiences will encourage them to realize the importance of childcare activities and to balance men's jobs and family affairs, which will help our society to have more equal family cultures and corporate cultures. Additionally, the assistance to company owners ensuring parental leave should be realized to give monthly 200,000 Won, so that the society reduces the burden of parental leave from company owners. The realization of the assistance in alternative manpower will play an important role in stimulating women's economic activities through the activation of maternity leave and parental leave.

⑫ Install public postnatal care centers and run community childcare centers.

- Install public postnatal care centers, assist childbed fees and create related social service jobs. We believe setting up community childcare centers in unused spaces of community centers and sending community childcare instructors will activate communities and after-school child caring activities, and create public jobs.

⑬ Provide compulsory women workers related human right educations: provide compulsory women workers related human right education for youth.

- In Korea, youth has part-time at their younger ages, but their human rights are largely ignored because they don't know their minimum labor rights. They should know how and where to get help if they have problems. In addition, their community and cooperation-based education should be reinforced. As a regular school curriculum, education regarding women workers' labor rights should be mandatory in order to booster the social change to a happy society to balance jobs and family matters as well as the protection of youth's labor human right.

5. Reinforce administration for women workers to remove legal blind spots.

▶ Current situations:

Current policies related to working women are implemented separately by the Ministry of Women and Family and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Under the Ministry of Women and Family, the Dept. of Women's Labor Force Development and the Dept. of Women's Career Break Assistance are in charge of re-employment policies for the women who cannot enter to the labor market. Under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Dept. of Women's Employment Policies is responsible for labor control for women workers. However, the Dept. of Women's Employment is removed and integrated to the Dept. of Labor Standard which has to cover many labor related matters. So it cannot specialize in the improvement of discrimination against employment, maternity protection and sexual harassment. The two different ministries' treatment of women workers' related policies, causes many problems such as the production of inconsistent and unspecialized policies.

▶Demands:

⑭ Install the Bureau of Women's Equal Employment in the Ministry of Employment and Labor: Install the Bureau of Women's Equal Employment in the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Bureau of Balancing Jobs and Family Matters in the Ministry of Women and Family.

- Small size service industries where women workers are usually concentrated, are outside of labor inspection. For example, 65% of women workers are involved in small size wholesale or retailers, lodging and restaurants, and childcare, health and education services. In this light, the Dept. of Women's Employment Policies, in the Ministry of Employment and Labor should be upgraded to the Bureau of Women's Equal Employment and further, the Dept. of Women's Employment should be revived so as to enhance its specialty in women's labor inspection.

- Since the Ministry of Women and Family focuses on women's re-employment projects after career breaks, there is large lack of the projects for promoting balancing jobs and family matters and for preventing career breaks. Women are socially viewed as responsible for households and childcare activities, so a diversity of awareness-raising projects are needed for men to get actively involved in childcare and households. Therefore, we believe the Bureau of Balancing Jobs and Family Matters should be set up, so that feasible social atmosphere creation projects for balancing jobs and family matters for men and women, both, should be carried out.

⑮ Organize Women Workers' Human Right Center: Set up and run Women Workers' Human Right Center by city, province and Gu.

- Women workers as well as company owners don't know laws related to women's labor well. Women workers usually endure poor human right conditions, or stop working due to the violations of their human rights. So, if Women Workers' Human Right Center is run by city, province and gu, poor human right conditions of women workers would be improved and this would encourage the higher number of people to observe the law well.

On October 17, 'Reply, 2012: to the reasons for unfairness and unequality'
holding a women workers' political talk concert
<in Nicholao Hall of Catholic Youth Center October 17, 2012>

Why are our society unfair and unequal? Last Wednesday, October 17, 2012, women gathered together at Catholic Youth Center to find answers to the questions.

At 7:10, the curtain of darkness in the concert hall was drawn. Soon, the lights of the stage became on, and then, women workers started to walk on the stage. The talk concert began to talk about the next president that women workers hope and wish to become: 'I'd like to put the name of a Korean president on my list of the persons that I respect. For this, the president should respect Korean people first.' 'The honest president going along with common people,' 'The president who can change the job structure polarized between decent jobs and poor jobs,' 'Happy society in which MOMs can enjoy!'

In order to celebrate the concert, first of all, performances were put on by ‘Pado,' a dancing team of the Sogang University, Seoul Branch, KWTU and 'Ullalla Sisters,' a dancing team composed of care workers of Kuro Self-sufficiency Promotion Center. The two dancing teams danced so passionately that the concert hall was filled with shouts and excitement.

Choi Kwanggi, a specialized MC announced the full-scale launch of the women workers' political talk concert, saying "Women are the half of the world. I am emceeing this talk concert with a will for women to change our politics by themselves and take political action. Korea in 2012 must listen to women's voices. I'd like to start 'Reply, 2012' by welcoming the women workers who became in the center of the politics.'

Next, delegates from the three presidential camps, Yoo Seunghee, National Assembly member (president, Women's Committee of the camp of presidential candidate, Moon Jae In), Park Won-suk, National Assembly member (spokesperson, Preparation Committee of Progressive Justice Party), Shin Kyeong-A, professor of Hallim University (Women's policy team member of the camp of presidential candidate, Ahn Cheolsoo) were on the stage and started talks. During the talk, Kim Eunsook (a golf caddie and 88 branch president of KWTU) and Jung Eunhee (a nurse and mom) also made their speeches regarding their workplaces.

[Theme 1: Let's decrease the Korea's worst wage gap between men and women to the OECD level]

Choi Kwanggi: While the average of gender wage gaps in OECD countries is 15.8%, Korea's wage gap between men and women is 38.9%, which is 2.5 times worse compared to the OECD average. What alternatives do you have to decrease the gender wage gap?

Yoo Seunghee: Why there is the big wage gap by gender in Korea is career break and the minimum wage. Our camp agreed that the minimum wage should be realized in practice and the Minimum Wage Committee should be legalized. In addition, we also discussed that 350,000 jobs in the public sector should be created.

Shin Kyeong-A: The equality by gender should be at the center of all kinds of equality. In this light, gender wage gap is an important issue. In addition, women workers working at the small and medium size companies employing less than 30, accounted for nearly 65%. It means two thirds of Korean women workers cannot be covered by large company centered policies. The improvement of the working conditions for women workers working at small and medium size companies will have a great impact on the whole picture of gender wage gap. The minimum wage should also be increased to 50 % of the average wages.

Park Won-suk: Women workers have triple discrimination by gender, educational level and employment type. In particular, women irregular workers are the class at the bottom in Korea. In removing the complicated wag gap, the first principle is 'Equal pay for equal work.' In addition, the second principle is 'the minimum wage.' The increase to 50% of the average wages should be legalized. So, if the average wage is increased, the minimum wage should be increased, as well. The third principle is the social representation of women. The rate of women directors are needed to increase in the private sector as well as in the public sector.

[Theme 2: Decrease women irregular workers to half]

Choi Kwanggi: Many women workers including irregular workers have the worst working conditions. Women workers account for 60% of all the irregular workers, which shows women irregular workers are higher than male workers. We believe there should be urgent countermeasures.

Shin Kyeong-A: There is an answer to irregular workers' issue, but only the government and the society didn't accept it. Many of women workers' issues can be solved if 'equal pay for equal work' and 'the limited reasons of the use' are applied well in practice. Even though there is the principle of 'equal pay for equal work' there but it hasn't been practical so far. It is of great importance that the government should express its strong will to fulfill it and feasible systems related to the principle should be carried out in practice.

Park Won-suk: Compared to men regular workers, the wage of women irregular women by gender and employment type is just 38~39. Without any proactive improvement in employment types and employment structures, any gender related policies can be feasible. As countermeasures to irregular workers' issues, 'limited reasons of use' and 'dispatched labor' should be banned. In order to obtain the quality of employment, the government should work hard to change irregular workers to regular workers in the public sector, first. This can lead to the change in the private sector.

Yoo Seunghee: Our party has proposed and propelled the Fixed-term and Part-time Worker Protection Act, Dispatched Worker Protection and Indirect Employment Limit Act. Women have many discriminations by wage and gender in their lifetimes. Poverty rate of old people is three times higher compared to that of OECD countries. Poverty rate of the women elderly is higher amongst the elderly. We should also look at this issue carefully.

Choi Kwanggi: Let's listen to the story in the workplace. Kim Eunsook is here.

Kim Eunsook: Since 1999 when a trade union was set up in my company, I have worked as a unionist. When the trade union was established, the company usually told us that we are not workers but self-employed. At that time, we were able to establish the trade union based on the precedent of the Supreme Court, saying that we are workers on the ground of but the Trade Union Act not the Labor Standard Act. 88CC is a public corporate run by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affair. CEOs usually change whenever regimes change. Since the MB regime was set up, out of sudden, we have been suppressed strongly: our trade union has become viewed as illegal and we haven't as workers. In 2008, the total number of about 70 unionists were fired, and presently only about 60 persons have struggled very hard for 5 years.

Park Won-suk: The system of specially employed workers have been spreaded fast, centered by the service industry. The crucial thing is that they are actually workers who receive job inspections and job instructions from the company, but that they are viewed as self-employed. Shim Sang-jung, our presidential candidate proposed a law for ensuring specially-employed workers to have the three labor rights, including the fact that they are also workers in the Labor Relation Regulation Act. Additionally, regardless of any occupational types, the law should be reformed in order that people could be covered by industrial insurance. I believe social awareness is also important. Compared to large-size companies, our society isn't concerned for the weaker. In the process of solving irregular workers' issues in our society, not only legal reforms but also social awareness should be upgraded.

Shin Kyeong-A: Special employment is a crucial issue but is not socially raised as a hot issue. Specially employed workers should be covered by the industrial insurance. In addition, we should organize a consultation body rather than the existing Tripartite Commission, for fundamentally changing irregular workers related laws and for ensuring specially employed workers to join the structure to raise their issues.

Yoo Seunghee: What is important is that specially employed workers are not viewed as workers and that their legal status is not definite. Of great importance is giving them their clear legal statuses.

[Theme 3: Increase women's employment rate to the average OECD level]

Choi Kwanggi: What lowers women's employment rate is that women stop working due to their childbirth and childcare activities. This generates the term, career break. Women often get fired because they are pregnant or women call for maternity leave. One of our guest had such an experience.

Jung Eunhee: I had been a nurse working for the operation room at a hospital. Currently, I am on parental leave. From the stage of pregnancy I had difficulty. I told my team master that I would be gonna prepare for pregnancy. When I told him that I would not join operations using radiation, he looked askance at me, saying that I should fix my pregnancy term. I asked to be moved to another department after being pregnant, but it was not that smooth. When I told the hospital that I would continue receiving maternity leave and parental leave, the hospital kept avoiding me, saying that there was no precedent. At last, on the last day when I was on maternity leave, I had to write a confirmation that I would retire at my will after this unpaid parental leave.

Shin Kyeong-A: There are maternity protection systems in Korea, but what is important is how to realize them. It is important to improve the systems, but it is needed to make good use of the systems for 5 years in the future. Of importance is caring. We should provide free childcare. We are going to construct care infrastructure for taking care of infants up to early juveniles, not just until 5 year-old kids. If so, moms can work comfortably and relaxedly.

Park Won-suk: What is problematic is that the systems don't work well. Eventually it is a political matter. The biggest problem in women's economic participation rate is career break. 'Discrimination Prevention Act' should be regulated to ban retirement due to pregnancy, child-delivery and childcare and employment discrimination. Public childcaring should be expanded. In addition, care workers in the informal sector cannot be covered by the Labor Standard Act. Korea has not ratified the ILO Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers. At once these issues should be tackled.

Yoo Seunghee: If the presidential candidates from opposition parties are unified, I think political aims are similar. We believe the care service network for looking after children up to middle school students, should be developed and carried out well in practice. Of great importance is to select a president with such a will.

Choi Kwanggi: Even though low birth rate is very serious in our society, who will deliver more babies because none takes care of even one baby? I hope our society can be a happy society in which the baby of the previous guest can be looked after until they are 10 years old.

Questioner: I work at a large-size company that people often classify. However women workers in large companies are also in hard situation. Since 1995, industrial restructuring has been chasing us. Under the situation, women always became targets for dismissals. Therefore, women from the bottom to the top have problems. We should vote for the presidential candidate and National Assembly members who are able to fulfill such good policies that women can be treated well and look after children in comfortable conditions. I hope today's talks were not just pun. I hope you are all the hopes for women workers in difficulties.

Choi Kwanggi: I'd like to announce this political talk concert is over. After letting the three camps know what the questioner and our guests said, I feel our hope seems realized more. I hope we can do our best to realize our hopes through changes and reforms in 2012. I hope women workers can be hopes. Today, we asked a question why our society is unfair and unequal to ourselves. I believe all of us know the answer. Your choice in 2012 can make our society fair and equal. You are the protagonist of the year of 2012.

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

Are Pregnant Women Bad Quality Products?: Holding a forum regarding the situations of maternity protection and sexual harassment in the service companies employing less than 30 workers

Women's Labor Politic Action (WLPA) was launched and a press conference was held, to improve women workers' livelihood through just wealth distribution and equal workplace creation.

Women's labor women's politics~ kangkangsoollae*~ Today we declare~ kangkangsoollae~

Women-centered welfare nation~ kangkangsoollae~ For economic democracy women' re essential~ kangkangsoollae~(*kangkangsoollae is a refrain of a Korean traditional song. Initially, the song was sung and danced mainly women during a war with Japan, in order that women could check if Japanese soldiers were around.)

Past September 25, 2012, in front of Lee Soon-shin Statute in the Kwang-wha-mum on a warm and sunny day, women wearing Korean traditional costumes were doing 'horse dance' when they did 'kangkangsoollae‘ dance.

Why they were doing kangkangsoollae dance merrily was to launch Women's Labor Politic Action (WLPA) for changing women workers' lives. WLPA is an organization for practicing everyday's politics and preparing for the new government which will be started in 2013. We, at the WLPA made resolutions and declared to demand pro-active policies for women workers and political intervention and mediation activities in order to realize women workers' demands.

First of all, the presidential election is just around the corner. We at the WLPA will work hard, to let presidential candidates know women workers' 4 major policy aims and 10 policy tasks, and to have women workers' demands reflected on policies for women workers.

[Declaration for the launching of Women's Labor Politic Action]
Under the flag of Justice and Equality, we want politics to change our lives!

In 2012, Korea is being swamped with voices and avouchment that only they can make people happy. There are a diverse of 'rosy' promises of economic democracy and welfare state. However, they don't understand women workers' real states or think over the alternative for women workers, either.

We, Korean women workers have tried hard to survive, through our repeated entering and going out of the labor market across their life span: in our 20s, we have to do our best to enter into the narrow labor market; in our 30s, we are dismissed due to our child-birth and childcare matters. After our 40s, we have to find low-paying jobs as irregular workers due to our career breaks. As a result, women experience chronic poverty. Women breadwinners' poverty rate is three times as high as male counterparts. Women irregular workers accounts for 60% out of all irregular workers. This is so crucial that it can unroot and destroy our society. In Korea the wage difference by gender is 38.9% which notoriously comes in the first place amongst OECD countries; the use rate of maternity leave by irregular women workers is only 20%, and only 2% of male workers use paternity leave.

Since we, Korean women are unorganized and our voices are not loud enough, women workers are in the deepest social swamp in the Korean social structure. What's worse is the MB government has declined the conditions of care jobs in the public service into an indecent job experiencing job insecurity and low wages and has increased the number of time-based irregular jobs, which badly targets women workers, since 2008 when the economic crisis took place in the US. Even in the public sector, it is true that the irregular workers have increased so rapid and dispatched women workers receive very low wages, having poor working conditions, and furthermore, specially employed workers are not covered under the shield of labor laws.

The bi-polarized society leads women workers to the blind spots and doesn't listen to women workers' cries.

To tackle this, we at the Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA) and the Korean Women's Trade Union (KWTU) declare to launch Women's Labor Politic Action (WLPA) to demand politicians, which aims to realize women workers' demands. That's because women workers' lives do not change, unless the politics changes, and neither does the society.

We at the WLPA declare to work very hard until the happy society is created where just wealth distribution and equal labor come true for women. We will do our best to make politicians respect women voters who are the half of the world. We will endeavor to help women workers to fulfill themselves as voters.  

Past June 18, about 30 people gathered together in front of National Assembly House. They were putting on yellow or blue aprons and bandanas, which made them more passionate and impressive on that strong sunny day.

They were holding hand pickets saying ‘Ratify the ILO Domestic Workers Convention!' and 'Reform the Labor Standard Act!'

Korean Care workers NGO Network including National Cooperative of House Managers (NCHM) and Korean Women Workers Association held a press conference to demand the Korean government to ratify the convention in celebration of the 1st anniversary of its establishment. In addition, the press conference was also designed to call for the reform of the Labor Standard Act and the amendment of the Industrial Accident Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance Act to protect home care workers, but they couldn't be passed in the past 18th National Assembly.

The press conference started with 'the Action Report for the ratification of ILO Domestic Workers Convention' by the Park Seung-hee, a president of Women's Committee, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). She said "Uruguay ratified the ILO Domestic Workers Convention in last April, which was the first in the world, and other 13 countries such as Germany and Italy have submitted their proposed convention to their Parliaments." Next, Yoon Hyeryeon, the chairperson of NCHM reported 'legal reform activities for protect home care workers and caregivers for sick people.' She said "In September 2010, we proposed the Hoe-based Care Workers' Legal Protection Act (in the Employment Insurance Act, Industrial Accident Insurance Act, Labor Standard Act and Act related to levying a tax on insurances) but the Home-based Care Workers' Legal Protection Act was automatically rejected because the 18th term of National Assembly was finished. Korean Care workers NGO Network will continue working hard to help pass the act in the 19th term of the National Assembly."

Then, home-based care workers who are experiencing many kinds of accidents and insecure employment spoke their harsh situations. Kim Yongsoon, chairperson of the Korea Domestic Worker's Association and Cha Seung-hee, branch president of Care Workers, belonging to the Korean Healthcare Workers' Trade Union said "home care workers and care givers for the sick are suffering from very poor working conditions, without receiving the minimum social protections." and claimed "The government should protect the rights to work for in-home workers."

After that, participants joined the balloon-popping performances, which means to improve the working conditions and the social awareness of care workers, through the ratification of ILO Domestic Workers Convention and the reforming of the Labor Standard Act. Lastly, a statement was released to the press.

<Statement>

In celebration of the establishment of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, we strongly demand the Korean government to ratify the convention.

Korean Care workers NGO Network demands the government and 19th terms of the National Assembly to actively ratify the ILO Domestic Workers Convention and reform the related laws, in order to play an important role in securing the right to work and job security for care workers.

Last year, at the ILO meeting in Geneva, 'ILO Convention on fundamental human rights for domestic workers,' the last crucial issue the international labor society was established by an absolute majority of votes, and so, more than one hundred million home workers became 'decent workers.' Accordingly, the world community established an international standard to protect non-discriminatory rights to work and social protection rights for care workers, equal to other workers.

However, even though a year has been passed by, since the establishment of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, the Korean government has not talked of the ILO convention or the ways to reform the relevant domestic laws, at all.

In Korea, care workers in the care service sector including home care workers and care givers for the sick rose up to 500,000 persons. However, 300,000 home-based care workers except some working in the formal sector have not received any legal protection. Care workers in the informal sector are suffering from many kinds of hazards and accidents and unemployment, because basic social safety nets such as industrial accident insurance and employment insurance are not applied to them.

This is because the Labor Standard Act doesn't cover home-based care workers, for the government views them as domestic helpers. However, domestic workers are also clearly workers working for wages. Nevertheless, the government is stubborn, under the pretext that domestic workers work at an individual home, a private space, where the government states it is difficult for the government to intervene and it is unclear to determine what relationship domestic workers have. The government insisted that domestic workers are not workers, on the ground of 'Exclusion Clause to domestic helpers,' Article 11 of the 60 year-old Labor Standard Act.

There are increasing demands for care work in the Korean society due to women's social participation and its rapid transition into the aging society. We cannot neglect the fact that the number of home-based care workers comes to 300,000 persons in our society any more, in spite of the government's pretext that they work in the informal sector. The care workers who participate in the government's projects are covered by the Labor Standard Act and Social insurance, which clearly shows that care workers are equally workers.

We firmly demand the government and 19th term of the National Assembly not to leave domestic workers in the indiscreet informal sector. We also demand them to protect the right to work and job security for home-based care workers, through the ratification of ILO Domestic Workers Convention and Reformation of the Labor Standard Act and Social Insurance Act, which can be a good opportunity that new decent jobs are available in our society experiencing a shortage of jobs.

○ The government should ratify the ILO Domestic Workers Convention promptly!!

○ The government should remove the 'exclusion clause to domestic helpers' and apply the Labor Standard Act to home-based care workers!!

○ The government should apply Industrial Accident Insurance Act and Employment Insurance Act to home-based care workers!!

June 18, 2012
Korean Care workers NGO Network

If There Are Many Unhappy Working Moms in Society, None Can Be Happy
- Three urgent tasks for making working women happy

Last May 26, the Statistics Korea released "2012 Women's Lives through Statistics." According to the report, working moms' life satisfaction level is lower than that of housewives. Even though women's social participation has become increasing, the glass ceiling which oppress women still exists in the Korean society.

In addition, Gender Gap Index was increased to 107 amongst 135 countries from 104 last year. We at the Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA) and Korean Women's Trade Union (KWTU) will look at hidden implications in the statistics.

1. Men and women must work and look after family together

Working mom's unhappiness comes from their exclusive responsibility for child care as well as social participation. While housewives having more than two preschoolers usually spend 4 hour 44 a day minutes on taking care of their family, working mom spend similar time on doing so. Moreover, because they have to spend 1 hour and 11 minutes on commuting between their workplace and home, they just manage to go to sleep at midnight. Working moms and their spouses should work together and take care of family together.

However, in Korea, the top country having been working the most hours amongst OECD countries for 14 years, with the average hour worked of 2,256 hour, society for working and caring together is just a pipe dream, because only 2.4% of Korean males took childcare leave. Since husbands are busy working overtime and having a get-together every night, they usually go back home at midnight, and so, working moms cannot ask their husbands to share their household affairs together. Instead, working moms have to take exclusive care of family matters, so-called "having another work at home" amongst Korean women. That is to say, Korean working moms have two jobs at home as well as at work for 24 hours, although they make themselves hated because they have to finish their work to go home on time.

In this style of life, none can be happy: Korean workers who suffer from long working hours, fathers who cannot take care of their family, and working moms who are forced to have two jobs for 24 hours. The exact solution to this difficult question is to look after family together as well as decreasing actual working hours without wage cuts. The social awareness should be upgraded so that women and men can balance family matters and jobs and men have to rights to take care of family matters.

2. Glass Ceiling should be broken

There has been increasing female ratios of National Assembly members, medical or health workers, teachers, public officers and lawyers. However, these statistics shows merely the increasing female participation, but they don't mean to realize gender equality. As of the end of November 2011, women accounted for 14.7% of national assembly members, which was ranked 81 out of 188 target countries. This doesn't reach the world's average of 19.8% and even the average of 18.3% in Asia. In 2012, the percentage rose to 15.7%, 1 % higher than last year.

Additionally, female public officers accounted for 41.8%. However, level 4 comprised 7.2% and level 3, 4.7% and high ranking female public officers accounted for only 2.4%. This shows even the public area where are supposed to have the most gender equality was governed by the rule of glass ceiling. In the case of school teachers, females accounted for 57.6% of all teachers, however, we have to look at the fact that school teachers are traditionally women concentrated jobs. That's because women usually get these jobs owing to job insecurity in the private sector. However, we can also find glass ceiling in this sector. Women's percentage declines rapidly in terms of the number of principals and vice principals.

We are very glad that an increasing number of women are socially active, and we believe it is very cheerful and amazing. However, there are a long journey to go for the society of equality. Especially, we believe it is very difficult to promote women's social status without breaking the glass ceiling.

3. Countermeasures to irregular women workers' issues and low wage issues should be taken rapidly

The statistics didn't point out irregular women workers' issues and their low wage significantly, but we should highlight the percentage of irregular women workers. According to the compositions of workers by employment type announced by the Statistics Korea, paid women workers accounted for 73.6% of women workers, and amongst them, regular workers comprised 37.1% and temporary and day workers 36.6%. However, male paid workers accounted for 70.4% out of the whole male workers, and among them, regular workers comprised 48.9% and temporary and day workers 21.5%. This means women workers are concentrated on irregular jobs. Irregular jobs stand for unstable employment and low wages, namely forming low-income groups in our society. In 2011, the number of income earners making less than the minimum wage was 2,040,000 persons, comprising 9.4% out of the whole workers. However, the women workers' group accounted for 15.2% out of the whole women workers, totalling 1,270,000 persons. In particular, irregular women workers' conditions become more serious. Out of irregular workers, the female low wage group earning less than the minimum wage comprised 23.5% out of the whole irregular women workers, totalling 750,000 women. To stop the irregularization of women and take the initiating role, irregular workers in the public sector should be regularized. In the private sector, the use of irregular workers should also be banned without any special reasons, to stabilize workers' livelihoods.

It is said that women's social participation is important to promote national competitiveness. However, everyday women workers feel as if they join the battlefield raining fire. Women workers try hard to get better. Now, our society and our nation should do their best.

Jeong Moon Ja                                                  Hwang Youngmi
chairperson                                                       president
Korean Women Workers Association                     Korean Women's Trade Union

dated on June 27, 2012

June 7, 2012, at 11 A.M. women and/or labor NGOs calling for the minimum wage of 5,600 won for 2013 held a press conference at the Seoul Station. The press conference was organized by the Women’s Action for Decent Lives and Jobs (WADLJ), a solidarity meeting of women workers' NGOs. Kwon Mee-hyuk, a standing chairperson of Korean Women’s Associations United (KWAU) started her address, saying "The minimum wage should rise to 5,600 won. This is the minimum demand by women workers." She also showed her iron will for the attaining of the minimum wage of 5,600 won an hour.

Next, women workers receiving the minimum wage gave their speeches. Kwon Soon-hee, a cleaning worker at a court said "I work hard, but my wage is very small. I and my family scrape a bare living with less than 1 million won a month. It is difficult to have another hope in such a condition. Although I have had hopes for the minimum wage rise in these seasons, I have let out a deep sigh at the decisions. It is frustrating if we have to have a hard time for another year." She questioned, "What should we do?"

Ha Jo-nam, a subcontracted cleaning worker at Sogang University, receiving the minimum wage claimed "Do you know how much a soup is nowadays? Our hour wage is less than a soup price. Don't you think we, women workers, should be paid as high as we work?" and raised her voice, saying "What is the government doing? Don't you hear women workers' screaming? Listen to our women workers' cries, resentment, and hopes." She resolved to continue her struggles at any cost until the moment when women workers can receive fair and decent wages.

Lastly, all participants joined a card section, 'YES, the minimum wage of 5,600 won!' to show their hope for the minimum wage increase.

<Statement>

“The minimum wage is women's issues and it shows the quality of our society."

Now, we demand the minimum wage of 5,600 won per hour which will be applied in 2013. In our society, women's labor is marginalized to maintain the existing status quo. Korea has the biggest wage gap between men and women amongst 30 OECD countries, and two Korean women out of 3 are irregular workers.

According to the statistics in 2012, regular women workers receive 66.3% of male regular workers' wages, and what is worse, irregular women workers' wages accounted for 39.6%. In addition, the income bracket receiving less than the minimum wage accounted for 9.4% in 2011, with their total number of 2,040,000 persons. Especially, irregular workers have been getting more serious problems. Irregular women who receive less than the legal minimum wage totalled 750,000 persons, accounting for 23.5% out of the whole irregular women workers. In fact, shockingly, one irregular women worker out of 4 receive less than the minimum wage. Further, the number of low-income women irregular workers has been increasing. While male irregular workers shrank by 18,000 persons, female irregular workers increased by 85,000 persons last year. This shows the minimum wage issues are Korean female workers' issues.

In practice, workers received the minimum wage of 4,580 won per hour in 2012, which means they received just 950,000 won although they worked for 209 hours a month based on 8 hour work a day. This amount doesn't compete the average price (5,378 won) of a noodle in the 16 cities across the nation.

A minimum wage level demonstrates a perspective of a country on labor, especially women's work. Don't you, the Korean government know the minimum wage of 5,600 won is the minimum demands of women workers?

In relation to the ratio of women members, only 6 women members out of 27 are working in the Minimum Wage Committee, composed by 9 respectively from the Tripartite Commission. There are three women public committee, two from the workers' side and only one woman committee from the company side. We believe the number of women commissioner from the public and the company sides as well as that from the workers' side should rapidly increase. Further, a legal enforcement is needed: one gender should not excel 60% in the tripartite commission. What is the important is that the government should settle in the crippled operation of the Minimum Wage Committee, since both of the Korean umbrella trade unions don't join the committee as committee members, caused by the one-sided and deflective appointing of committee members.

In addition, according to Article 1 of the Minimum Wage Act, the minimum wage system aims for 'guaranteeing the minimum level of wage and stabilizing livelihood and improving the quality of labor for workers, which is designed to make contribution to the sound development of national economy.' However, the law excludes in-home workers from its coverage, which is seriously against the purpose of the legislation. We believe it should be reformed along with Article 11 of the Labor Standard Act (the scope of application), and so the minimum wage can be applied to all the care workers including care givers for the sick and specially employed workers.

We confirm the minimum wage is women workers' crucial issue. We proclaim we should take solidarity action for obtaining the minimum wage of 5,600 won for 2013.

Women’s Action for Decent Lives and Jobs
Dated on June 7, 2012

  Women’s Action for Decent Lives and Jobs (WADLJ) is a solidarity meeting of women workers' NGOs which aim to take action and find alternatives of women workers' issues and work hard to improve the Korean society for women to happily balance their jobs and family matters, consisting of Korean Womenlink, Korean Women’s Associations United, Korean Women Workers Association, Federation of Korean Trade Unions, Women Corea, Korean Women's Trade Union, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Woman Labor Law Support Center, Women's Committee of Lawyers for Democratic Society, and ALLTOGETHER.