Survey on VDT-suffering women workers and Suggestion for its prevention

1. Survey Results
   The survey was conducted focusing on women workers, 83.2 percent of whom are in their twenties, working in the 13 electronics plants in Masan and Changwon areas.

   For the last number of years more and more workers have complained of VDT Syndrome, that is suffering pain on specific body parts such as shoulders. Though the VDT Syndrome is usually regarded as a disease mainly suffered by non-production office workers, production workers have increasingly reported suffering from the syndrome also.

   76.6 percent of the workers surveyed said their jobs are sedentary; 59 percent having to raise and lower their arms a movement that gives one's back a lot of burden; 39 percent having to use their wrists in and out very frequently; and 88.8 percent having to use their fingers often.

   This survey tells that the electronics workers perform highly repetitive jobs, using their specific body parts, which causes high frequency of the Cumulative Trauma Disorders among those workers.

   Among the workers surveyed, 85.7% feel some 'disorder' on the arms; 80.6% on the hands and wrists; 70.9% on the lower parts of the body; 69.2% on the back; 57% on the elbows; 54.9% on the neck; and 50.2% on the shoulders. Although the survey is based on the workers' subjective symptoms, its results show how the working conditions in the electronics industry, one of the dominating and female-intensive industries in Korea, poses threats to women's health as well as to the autonomy to their own bodies.

2. Suggested Policies
   Such cumulative trauma disorder is not yet officially acknowledged as an occupation-related disease here in Korea.

   Although 'Guidelines for Workers Doing VDT-Related Jobs' has been added to the existing labor laws after the collective struggles of the telephone operators of the Korea Telecommunication, the guidelines are only applied to workers whose work is done mainly with computer terminals. This excludes most production workers whose labor process also makes them vulnerable to similar diseases to those of telephone operators.

   So, the WWA-Masan Changwon members urge the government and the legislators to expand the coverage of the Guidelines so that it can benefit all workers who suffer the same or similar pains regardless of their occupational boundaries.

   For this to be implemented, thorough and committed research on working conditions across occupations and industries must be conducted in advance.

Survey on How to Increase the Employment Opportunities for Married Women

1. Survey Results

   

   This survey was conducted not only to investigate the current employment situations of married women workers but also to find ways to enhance their employment opportunities.

   According to the survey, 85.1 % of the women surveyed said they started their employed work before their children attended the elementary school, and 97.2 % before their children graduated the elementary school. Although 43.7 % of the respondents who had working experiences before they married worked as clerical workers, they now work mostly as service workers (29.2%) or as production workers (24.5%).

   It is worth noticing that those women who are currently working as production workers show the least job satisfaction, and want to change their job into a more skilled and professional work.

   To the question of why they want to hold an employed job, 36.0 % answered 'for their economic independence', and 38.6 % 'for immediate economic needs.' The high percentage of the need for 'economic independence' shows us the fast growing job commitment among the married women workers.

   Most of the respondents of this survey said they want regular and stable employment rather than irregular and casual work, which disproves the conventional idea that married women prefer casual jobs, an idea especially held among employers and government officials. Women who responded they prefer casual jobs also said they too want to get a regular job if they can get access to appropriate childcare facilities.

   The survey also investigated the way employers think of married women as workers, and found out that there are some big differences between jobs the married women prefer and jobs the employers want to provide them with. Employers responded that they rarely intend to hire married women for managerial positions even if those women have the experience for the jobs.

   Employers said, however, they do not have any discriminatory policies on hiring married women as manufacturing production workers. On the contrary, managerial jobs are most preferred by married women while production jobs are least preferred.

2. Suggested Policies
   The survey confirms that childbearing and housework responsibilities are the biggest obstacles against married women's access to employment outside home.

   Many women are still forced to quit their occupation when they get married or after they give birth to a baby. This is due to the lack of childcare facilities as well as to the direct or indirect discriminatory internal labor market policies.

   In order for married women to keep their wage earning jobs outside the home, a lot of policies and systems must be implemented. These include the extension of the existing maternity protection-related policies, a social and community-sponsored maternity protection system, welfare programs for paid maternity and childbearing leave, construction of more public childcare facilities as well as company-supported facilities, legal protection for part-time workers, and introduction of 'family nursing leave' system In addition, there are several more key policies needed for married women workers.

   Firstly, the central and local government should construct offices which would work exclusively to better women's employment.

   They must also have special and committed programs for occupational training for women, especially married women who are the most vulnerable group in the labor market. Secondly, the Labor Standard Law and the ILO ratified Homeworkers Protection Agreement should be extended to cover work places with less than 4 workers - where some 62.7% of married women work - and implemented so that women are more motivated to work on production lines in the factories without being threatened..

Survey on Gender Discriminatory Practices

1. Survey Results
   This survey was conducted especially to investigate gender discriminatory practices regarding the personnel policies in the relatively large companies. These included five manufacturing companies, five financial businesses, and several press and broadcasting companies in the Kwangju area.

   According to the survey, 14.2 % of the women respondents said they had the common experience of being rejected for employment just because they were women. And 35.6 % responded that they have been given 'lower' positions than their male counterparts who had the same education level and work experiences as the women. There is no meaningful differences between production workers and non-production workers regarding these survey items.

   93.7 % of the respondents who are production workers said they are paid less than male workers because of the gender discriminatory wage system, while the figure for non-production workers was 41.7 %. Among the workers who said they are discriminated in terms of wage, 48.6 % reported the wage difference is less than 100,000 won; 40.6 %, 110,000 to 200,000 won; 5.4 %, 210,000 to 300,000 won; and another 5.4 % over 300,000 won.

   As for the reasons for the wage differences between women and men workers, 80.3 % of the women respondents referred to the Gender-Based Wage System as the key factor. And 14.5 % referred to gender differences in job positions, and 4.6 % to differences in job capabilities between women and men. These results strikingly show that the Gender-Based Wage System, a wage system which has become indisputably illegal since the enactment of Equal Employment Law in 1988, in practice still remains strong and is not being monitored.

   As for the promotion fairness between women and men, 65.0 percent responded that women are excluded from the opportunities for promotion mainly because only men are given chances for the so-called 'job-circulation programs' which is the number one condition for promotion in many companies. However, 14.7 percent of the women respondents said that, even though women too are given the job circulation programs in their companies, the contents of the programs are different from those for men workers. And, not surprisingly, such programs are often evaluated as 'not enough' for promotion.

   The extremely limited chances for promotion for women workers seem to play a great role in creating low level of job commitment among women workers. 26.1 percent of those women said they neither regard their current job as a life-time one, nor want to devote themselves to the job because of the lack of promotion, while 37.8 percent referred low pay as the key reason, and 18.5 percent referred to lack of maternity provisions.

2. Suggested Policies
   As we have seen above, women in Kwangju are still facing a variety of gender discriminatory employment practices despite the fact that many of those practices are overtly illegal. The central and local governments should monitor those illegal practices thoroughly and encourage the companies to implement more affirmative employment policies for women workers.

   Trade unions also should exercise their responsibilities and role in realizing gender equality in labor markets. They should exert more efforts to educate not only women but also men workers about the gender issues, and to prioritize these issues among their union activities. In order to do so, the introduction of a women's quota system for trade unions' decision-making bodies needs to be considered.

Working Women Vol.12

October, 1997

An-Seong Women's Industrial Masters' College is professional course for women, that is rare in Korea

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Feature
Seven Tasks for Working Women's Labor Policy

Voices from the Field
Wooseok Electronics Democratic Labor Union flighted over a ghost labor union

Hot line for Equality
Unstable Employment - The Most Frequent
Counselling Focus - Is Personnel Cut Justified? -

Park, Min-na's life story
From a housewife from Samchonpo to become a labor leader

International Solidarity
News indonesia

 News and Happenings

• August 11th, the 18th Memorial Service for a marryer Kim Kyeong-sook, who was a female worker killed in the process of YH struggle in 1970's. It was a significant women workers' struggle to end the military dictatorship, Park Chung-hee regime.

• United gathering for expanding nursery facilities inside a company: the open forum will be held on October 29th.

• Survey of the women workers' health condition, organized by KWWAU and Labor & Health Institute.

• Published leaflets "Let's revise the current Men and Women Equal Employment Law in this way." It contains about why the Law has to be revised and what the points are to be revised.

• Published a material 'Women Labor Policy-Voices from the working women'. It was co-published by KWWA affiliated women groups. It explains about the basic policy of women workers' welfare (1998-2001), employment stability, job recruiting, equal employment, maternity & health, and child caring, etc.
  

• Computer training program for women, which is to develop women's job capacity in terms of economic self-reliance and of improving social status. It is a three-month-course starting from July 7th, and will be continued.
  

• Sent a protest letter against the Anam Precision Factory which is a female dominated place. The shopfloor managers used a severe violence to women union members who were in a collective bargaining. Since the revision of Labor Law, the Anam Precision Factory had a collective bargaining as a member of Metal Workers' Union for the first time. The president of the workers' union did a hunger strike to protest against such kind of oppressions to the union movement. The Hot-Line served a consultation to the union, and KWWA sent a protest letter to the violent company management together with many women's groups.
  

• Hyundai Precision Factory had an education program for women membership of their union with a main topic 'Who am I?' This program helped the women workers share their difficulties and feel a solidarity among themselves.
  Campaign about the industrial accidents in Masan Free Trade Zone using leaflets, wall paper and exhibition.

• Women School for clerical women workers. The main points of the lectures are employment stability and equality based on : awareness and understanding about the women's issue, legal rights as workers, protection from the dangerous working conditions and the present and the future of women in Korean society.
  

• October is scheduled as a month of equal employment. Therefore, the CWWA has been carrying out the survey on the current situation of employment equality in Chonbuk region. After the survey, they plan to have a open forum.

• Opening the women counselling center as a project of 'Sound society and sound home'. The counselling will be on the family and the sex.

1. The President of the Republic of Indonesia
2. The Minister of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia
3. The Peoples' Representative Body of the Republic of Indonesia
4. The National Committee for Human Rights

Your Excellencies,

On the basis of recommendations and opinions collected during the period 20 July-31July 1997 from the workers of Subabaya, Sidoardjo, Gresik, Pasuruan, Malang, Jember, Tagerang and Jakarta, regarding the New Manpower Bill, we have formulated the following:

1. Regarding WAGES:

   The Wage System should not be used as a means of controlling workers. We therefore reject the present system that manipulates components to punish workers. Wages should be determined according to standards for a decent living, meaning that wages should be sufficient to support a worker and his or her family. The present formulation of the Regional Minimum Wage does not reflect these standards.

2. Regarding LABOUR UNIONS

   The worder's freedom to associate and to organize should be guaranteed. Therefore, only allowing us to form a labour union within the factory is tantamount to dismissing our rights.

   A labour union should function to work for, protect and support the rights and needs of all workers. For this reason, the workers' rights to organize should not be limited to formulating and signing the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but should encompass the instrumental aspect of the right to organize, including representation of workers in labour dispute settlements, strikes, rallies, demonstrations, etc.

3. Regarding STRIKES

   For workers, the right to strike is inherent in the right to associate and organize. Therefore it should not be restricted to individual workers but should cover collective worker action through labour unions and federations of unions.

4. Regarding the RIGHTS OF WOMEN WORKERS

   Women workers have the right to menstrual leave and thus should not be forced to work. They should be allowed to take this leave without having to go through complicated and humiliating procedures. Women workers who are pregnant should receive 4 months of maternity leave to cover birth and breast-feeding of their babies.

   Women workers should also receive protection from all forms of discrimination and harassment on the basis of gender. Thus if a woman worder is subjected to sexual harassment, she should have recourse to legal protection with appropriate punishment for the perpetrator. We recommend that such cases be brought to labour courts.

5. Regarding LABOUR DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

   In the case of labour disputes and/or dismissal, and when the company and/or government violate the provisions of labour legislation (for example, refusing to pay decent wages or sexual harassment of workers), resolution should go through labour courts that are efficient, open, independent, and just.

The New Manpower Bill does not contain the items presented herein and thus, in order to avoid unrest among the workers and conflict with the government, we, the Regional Labour Network for East Java and Jabotabek submit to the following:

• We reject the New Manpower Bill which is currently being debated in the Peoples' Representative Body and DEMAND THE SPEEDY FORMATION OF A LABOUR COURT.

• The New Manpower Bill should improve existing labour legislation that is inimical to labour

• The New Manpower Bill should protect workers rather than the entrepreneur/company and should be consistent with the Pancasila because the Pancasila is the source for all legislative products in Indonesia.

Lee, Jung Ja (Haitai Electronic Co. labor leader)

She started her factory work when she was thirty-five years old. Prior to the time, she was a housewife with two children, and she had never dreamed of her working at the factory, or any kind of paid work outside home. After ten years, Ms. Lee tells us her life story, retrospecting to her young days, when she was so naive and ignorant of the world that she had to suffer repeatedly. While she was talking, she was in tears many times.

Ms. Lee was born as the first daughter of a family of four sons and two daughters in 1953, in Samchonpo, a small southern port city. Her mother died when she was three years old, and her formal education ended with the primary school.

Under a stubborn father and a step-mother, she became a young lady, knowing little of the world, and all she knew about was sewing and housework.

Her father worked at the Samchopo office of Taehan Tongwoon, as a supervisor over 40-50 workers for 15 years. He had a good reputation from the longshoremen. Since he had regular job, her family did not need to worry about food or other basic necessities.

He was a single-minded and conservative man, and he decided himself that his daughter should learn sewing and housework instead of getting into secondary school. Since Ms. Lee was a good girl, never confronting her parent, she followed whatever she was told to do. She even did not have any ideas about her own marriage, i.e., whether she should marry or not, because she had always lived her life following orders from her parents.

Through a matchmaker, she met a man, a worker at a insulator factory, who was ten years older than her. She wanted to evade marriage because of her nameless fear. Although her initial response toward marriage with this man was a little negative, she decided her mind to marry with him because she pitied him in distress, when she heard that he had his finger cut off by a work accident.

Before she was heading to Seoul, where her husband to be was living, her elder brother opposed her marriage and cried that she will have such a hard time if she get married with the men and live in Seoul. But she had no ideas about what would be so hard, because of her naivety.

Her husband grew up as a lone child without parents, because his father had died when he was four years old and his mother had remarried. At the time, he was living with his uncle's family, giving all of his earnings to his aunt. For wedding expenses and deposit for a rental room for their new home had to come from the accident compensation money. He was a very kind man. Since he has never really had a family, his wife, or his own family was very important for him.

• NOT SO EASY WORLD

  The couple was able to save some money as time passed, due to his diligence and her frugality. However, the fact that he was close with his cousin, who was the owner of the small factory where he was working, and the couple's intimacy with his cousin's family, eventually left them with a debt of six million Won in 1982, which was a great burden for them. Furthermore, they were dunned for payment of the debt almost everyday. It was about this time she started to wonder about whether she should get a job.

  Since her husband set up a small factory in Changwon, they could meet only once a month for three years. She was sorry for her husband who made so much effort on this factory, which was eventually to be in vain. In 1986, she took a job at Taeyun Electronics that was a subsidiary of Nawoo Precision Instrument and her work career began.

  This was when her son was in the primary school, and her daughter was five years old. The children had to do everything by themselves, because their father came home once a month, and their mother was available for them only after work. However, they have grown up nicely without any trouble. The boy is now in the military service and the girl is senior in high school.

• FACTORY LIFE JUST LIKE A BATTLE FIELD

  For Ms. Jungja Lee who was soft and shy, the factory was a fearful, scary place just like a battle field. She reflects it with her eyes filled with tears. The supervisors and the superintendents talked down aloud to make the workers lose their heart, and their curses were rampant on the factory floor.

  ▶The vice-president, Lee Jung-ja sheds tears in her eyes reminding her old days

  The manager used to make the workers to stand next to his desk for two or three hours if they were late in the morning. Ms. Lee felt so much humiliated observing this, although she was not one of the workers penalized. It was very difficult for her to get adjusted emotionally in the factory life that was dramatically different from the world she had imagined, that is, a warm and egalitarian world.

  Because she was frightened with this new world, she was never late for work and tried to be perfect on her tasks so as not to get reproach. She also saw fellow women workers and was impressed by the younger unmarried workers who were managing their lives independently from their family. She wanted to be a little help to these younger women.

  She maintained a good relationship with fellow workers and her work gradually became a little more interesting. Also, she had a hope that she would pay back family debt someday. Their interest payment was about 120,000 Won, and her wage was just above that level. Ms. Lee thought that with her husband's earning, it would be possible to pay back all their debt in a couple of years.

• AT THE FRONTLINE OF THE STRIKE

  In 1988, a labor union was established at Nawoo Precision, and the workers at Taeyun heard that the Nawoo Union will go on a strike. The managers of Taeyun told their workers not to be agitated by the strike, but to work hard. Then, they will be treated just like Nawoo workers.

  Ms. Lee, without knowing anything about union, liked Nawoo's strike, because the workers at Taeyun will be treated better. The printed materials from Nawoo union she read led her to sympathize with the Nawoo union, because they were mostly about unfair treatment on the shop floor and bad working conditions. However, she regarded the strike other people's business, because the expressions used in the printed materials sounded too radical for her.

  Some fellow workers wanted to provide a little support for the striking Nawoo workers, so Ms. Lee followed others to the striking site. Striking Nawoo workers, who were mostly older, married women workers, appeared to her as dignified and commanding. The women workers on strike were sitting on the floor, singing songs, waving arms together in a perfect order.

  The striking workers impressed Ms. Lee so much at this moment that she could never forget the day she was at the Nawoo's strike.

  

• STRIKING WOMEN AS DIGNIFIED AND COMMANDING

  Around this time, Taeyun workers agreed to refuse overtime work, and they carried it out one day. The low level managers and superintendents were furious and they swore at the workers to the extreme. The women workers, angry with these ridiculous treatments, started a collective action in order to get an apology from these low level managers.

  With this event as a momentum, the workers as Taeyun recognized the importance of labor union.

  In May 1989, Taeyun Electronics was merged into Nawoo Precision, and Ms. Lee became a union member. She says that everything that the union sponsored or led was interesting and fun, although she did not have much knowledge of labor union. In September 1989, she was honored with a model union member, and in another two months, she was elected as a representative of the union. Although she wondered about whether she could perform her union duties well enough, she decided to make all her efforts.

  In 1990, the union had a strike, and Ms. Lee again reflected the moment with her eyes filled with tears. While they were preparing a strike, she heard the stories around the time of union establishment from the union officials. She felt as if her heart would break, so she decided in her mind that she would be at the frontline during this strike to show her acknowledgment and gratitude toward the earlier leaders.

  She decided to stick to a principle of fighting a in just and truthful fight, and also decided to trust the union leaders wholeheartedly. A seventeen day (and night) strike started. She says that she was under a continuous stress and anxiety during these days, with her obscure fear as if she was involved in a grand scheme.

  At the same time, she worried about her children who were left by themselves, because she had to remain in the factory day and night. However, she felt an unbearable anger toward the managers who came by the striking place driving a truck and the drunken managers who cursed and swore around the sit-in site during the whole night. She felt indignant about the fact that she was cursed and maltreated by those wicked men.

  She clenched her fist. A society that maltreats its citizen may not be inherited to our children, and it must be changed! Ms. Lee could not easily go on her talk, stifled with her anger.

• BLOOD ON THE PAVED STREET

  The strike was ended with the arrest of three union leaders including the union president. The union members continued their struggle in front of factory gate for fifty days afterwards.

  One day the women workers lined up for a scrimmage, and sang union songs, supporting one another, under the heavy rain. Ms. Lee saw the asphalt-paved street where one women was sitting was turning into the color of blood. This was because everyone was sitting on the asphalt-paved street under a downpour, and this woman was having her period. Ms. Lee was so angry that she had to cry.

  Although the workers have never imagined that the strike to be lost, the defeated strike brought the union a severe setback. It was urgent to reconstruct the union organization, and the union could not possibly engage another strike. Her first year as a representative ended with this kind of activities.

  In 1991, after liquidating his Changwon factory, her husband returned to Seoul, and Ms. Lee participated in the union as an ordinary member. Four years ago, she was recommended for an official position, an auditor, of the union.

  She was in agony, because she was much demanded at home. Since her son was senior in high school preparing college entrance examination, she had to take a lot of attention for him, including packing five lunch boxes a day.

  She thought that she would not take this union position, if her son disliked the idea. On the contrary, her son encouraged her very much saying, "Oh, please devote yourself to the union." Her husband, who had not been aware of her union involvement until this time, was a little upset at first and wished that she would not take the position.

  However, he left her alone whenever she was busy with union business that required her staying out of home a day or two, because he basically trusted her. During the struggle for a revision of labor legislations in 1996, her husband persuaded her to resign her union post for the first time. They had a big fight over this matter. Ms. Lee understood that he had tried to persuade her because of his caring for his wife, but she felt sorry what had happened.

  Ms. Lee as a union official, experienced many difficulties. For example, even though she was well prepared with her talk, she could not speak comfortable in front of many people. The techniques in leading a discussion and in proceeding with a meeting, were not easy for her to learn quickly. However, she did her best. She became a vice-president in 1995.

  She wondered whether she, who was wanting in ability, would be able to perform such a job. She dared to take the job, reflecting those union leaders who established the union for the first time in the factory.

  The company stopped recruiting new workers since 1990, which in turn reduced the size of union members to some 150, in addition to 38 non-members. With the size reduction, the power of the union has much weakened. In September 1995, Haitai Group took over the ownership of Nawoo Precision, which made the company name changed into Haitai Electronics.

  There is some possibilities of factory moving to Hwasung, which would cause many married women workers in their forties and fifties to worry. Ms. Lee herself only hope that she would be able to work here in Seoul until her retirement.

• FINALLY CLEARED OFF THE DEBT

  Their debt which originally caused her to work outside home, was finally cleared off after seven years. The day when they paid off all their debt, she could do nothing but to cry. She had experienced so much trouble in the process of earning money to pay back the debt.

  When the debt was paid off, she only fell to crying in her sorrow. She cried one whole day working on the shop floor, because she could not stop her tears streaming down her face.

  She still work at the factory, and she has her own role in the society working as a vice president of the union. Her family now owns a small apartment. In purchasing this, her first daughter who is now working, also contributed. Her son, under the influence of his mother, was to be an activist in the student movement, but now he rather wants to work in a steady job following his father's advice.

  Ms. Lee hopes that her son finds a steady job, her first daughter finds a good husband, and her second daughter who is senior in high school gets a job in a department store as she wants. She also hopes her husband has a good health, because he has been working hard in a small factory on a day and night shift.

  Her greatest hope is that the labor union, (that is, democratic labor union) exercises its influence over the society to transform it into a just society.

  The stories Jungja Lee tells about her life, from the housewife who knew nothing about the world of work to the status of a union vice-president, can only be recalled back with lots of tears. Her work career, which was originally unintended but accidentally started, provided her a good lesson. She came to a conclusion that it is people who gave her the joy of living in this difficult world. She thinks that knowing a person one by one is very important, and that has been a goal of her life.

  We would have a beautiful world, if people whom Ms. Lee considered most important are nice to one another.

1. Delay in (payment/Part-time/Dismissal -employment insecurity)
   • Recruiting a successor in secret for marriage
     A lady, who used to be an accounting clerk for an exclusive bookstore, has not got retirement allowance(U$1,100.-) for last three months from resignation. The company insists that they do not pay for the reason that the accounting balance amounts to U$1,100. (Seoul, Account clerk)

   • No retirement allowance from a small restaurant
     A cook has been working sincerely for a restaurant with three other persons. The boss of the restaurant has been saying, "I am always appreciating you. I pay you more and save some deposit in a bank for your retirement allowance." But when she requested the retirement allowance at resignation, the boss said it had been *included in her payment and nothing was left for her.

   • Accumulated delayed payment
     Payment for working for a restaurant, U$3,300.- up to December, 1995 is not given, nor is U$2,500.- up to July, 1997. At the end of 1995, the restaurant had more than five persons including part-timers, but as of now, only two persons are left. Is there any way to get the delayed payment back?

   • From being laid off to worse
     Working for semiconductor parts company for five months, a woman has been laid off for a week. It was heard that only some staffs were called to come back for work and the others were considered to be fired. Can she get dismissal payment? Can she get paid for several days' work before dismissal?

   • Neither payment nor incentive for a temporary worker
     670.-U$ as a basic payment and 1.70U$ per box as an incentive were confirmed at the entrance of the company which deals with snail extract, but she was not paid for the first month's job and quitted. She did not still get paid. (Pusan, Distribution)

   • Pushed her from front desk to restaurant service
     On the pretext of reorganization, three women having chief positions were transferred to front desk and three workers including front desk clerk were transferred to restaurant service without due formalities.
2. Unfair recruiting/unfair personnel change/early retirement
   • Recruiting a successor in secret for marriage
     A lady is getting married soon and she thinks she will hold the job what she is doing. The boss also asked her "One week is enough for honeymoon vacation?". But in reality, the boss is seeking for a successor. The boss did not force her to quit the job and he might think she will hand in resignation by herself when a successor comes in.

   • Client requesting a male staff
     A woman who has been working for Legal counselling company was ordered to go to work on a big business company. After working for a week, the big company requested that the Legal counselling company replace with a male staff. The legal counsellor asked me to stay only still a male staff is to be stationed.

     She was thinking of demanding an explanation of reason but is afraid of being cut off their business relationship by the client. The big business company pretends to have the pro-woman policy but the reality is the reverse and the legal counselling company is utterly irresponsible standing on only client's right.

3. Sexual harassment / Maternity right
   • Stirring up to sexual harassment
     A company had a recreation program and the master of ceremony bolstered up the mood of sexual harassment mating persons with each man and woman and cheering them to touch partners as much as possible.

   • Boss beating a woman before other staffs
     A woman who has working for real estate company having 20 staffs and was assumed to alienate account clerk was hardly beaten in front of five male staff by the boss. To hear the inside story, she was presumed to be the boss's wife without wedlock.

   • Not paid for maternity leave
     She has been working after one and half month's maternity leave. She wanted two months for it, but it was tough for her considering the company's situation. But she did not get paid for that period.

▶July 10th, the Wooseok Electronics Labor Union members had a demonstration in front of the Incheon Northern Labor Office demanding a truth of the fabricated official documents. People wouldn't believe me what i say. Only a day break in a month, and even though society shouts about the company run by 12 working hours shifting system, nobody would care and just go to bed for the coming tomorrow's work. Among those busy people, few care about it. Like a stream flowing under a thick ice, people grasp the water stream. (The union president Mr. Park's reminds)

Unlike other Sundays, July 6th, Wooseok Electronics (union president: Park Ji young, the number of workers: 100, product: transistor, located at Kajoadong, Seoku, Incheon) workers awoke from a long silence. The union meeting was finally held on the day of one-day break in each month.

After the meeting was successfully ended, the supervisors asked the workers to keep quiet of the happening until the next day, and stayed together at a motel.

Around 10:00 in the morning, on July 7th, the workers didn't work on that day, registered the form at Inaction Northern Labor Office and gathered together around lunch time to hold a rally. When the workers registered the formation of the union, the numbers reached 80 only for the day time workers. However, after the meeting with the company president, the rest of workers decided to listen to the union until the next day, 8th.

In the evening, while having dinner with workers, they got a call from the labor supervisor Incheon Soo-chang in the Labor Office saying "I didn't realize it in the morning, later on but I found that Wooseok Labor Union has been already existed officially on the date of July 4th".

This was the opening of the announcement that tell us about the ghost labor union. We didn't know what to do. The representatives of the union immediately called an emergency meeting and called up the Northern Labor Office. The Labor Supervisor said, "the exact supervisor who got the registration isn't here and we can't contact him through handphone or a pager, so why don't we discuss this matter tomorrow, not today?"

But we went there and looked through the papers and found some unclear points.

First, , the registration paper was on the date of July 4th, and there was a non-existing worker's name Lee Joo-bok on it.

Second, with the lack of exact number of required materials, it was registered. Third, when the workers went there to register their democratic union on July 7th, the office didn't mention about the expiating union.

Observing these points, the workers visited to the office again with the chairman of Inaction branch, Federation of Democratic Labor Union and a few other persons, we found that the non-existing member, Lee Joon-bok had been erased out, and the registration date had been changed from July 4th to July 7th, Also a few more things had been changed.

Consequently, the Labor Ministry and company fixed thing up to make things worse for the union.

We prepared for a struggle to discover the truth of the case done by the Northern Labor Office and pushed them to confess their fabrication on the ghost labor union. It was not a just small thing to be erased at a moment.

We sent materials to the press centers to explore the truth of the ghost labor union case. All the workers know it is not a mistake of one officer, but co-operation by the capitalists and government who oppress workers to keep the, so called, industrial or financial peace in a society.

The struggle to achieve legal status of the democratic union hasn't finished, yet. Still a long way to go. It's just a first step to the better society!

Coming December is the period a Presidential Election and establiching Welfare Standard Policy for Working Women. KWWAU selceted Seven Tasks for Working Women's Labor Policy which needed certainly for Working Women General labor rights - securing 40 hours labor time a week, perfect Securing labors three primary etc.- , policies of politics, economy, humane rights, education, family, environment, poverty and unification are omitted because of lack of space.

1. Employment Stability
   1. We are against the `Law's Regarding the Proper Management of Temporary Help Agencies and the Protection of Temporary Help Workers

      Recently, the numbers of workers employed in these agencies have rapidly grown. We estimate that the number reaches between 450,000 to 550,000. The Temporary Help Agencies should be regularized and public employment centers should expand their functions.

   2. The number of women worker have increased in the informal sector.
      This fact shows the employment unstability of women workers. Many women workers are also involved in the contract based temporary works. If they would continue their job for three months at a same place, then their position should be regularized.

   3. Due to the increase of subcontracted works of small and medium sized companies, more and more women workers are engaging the home based works. They are disadvantaged in many aspects including wage, stability, health, social security, etc. In 1996, ILO adapted an agreement to protect the home based workers.

      The Korean government should also follow this case and establish an exclusive body that can be responsible for the home based workers. The government should enforce a law to protect their rights.

2. Employment Acceleration
   1. The survey shows that women only accounts 9.4 percent in public vocational training centers as of February in 1997. It is hard to find the trained women workers at a work place. Therefore, we insist that the quota system for women trainees should be implemented.

      The ratio of women instructors in public vocational training centers should also be increased. The Korean Technology Education University should allocate 30 percent of their freshman quota for women.

   2. Starting 1996, the government adapted the 10 tasks to expand women's social participation. The government set up a plan to allocate 20 percent of public official positions for women. However, by 1996, only 18 women were hired by the government.

      We insist that the government and public sector should implement 30 percent quota system for women workers. And private businesses should also forward in this direction.

   3. Currently, the government establishes the employment information network and supports workers to find their job.

      ▶The Women recruiting Center must be established in order to promote women recruiting, to improve a job consciousness and working capacity.

      However, we are still short of public employment centers. Hence, many of private employment offices have engaged in illegal entertainment business and many women have been their victims. We insist that in order to reenforce women's employment, an exclusive public body should be established. The body should regularly provide information on employment trend, introduction of vocational training centers, employment counseling, etc.

3. Equal Employment
   1. Since the implementation of Equal Employment Law, the cases of direct discrimination against women have been decreased. However, indirect discrimination have cased many problems. They are sexual discrimination in dispatch, promotion and education, the increase ofwomen workers in informal sector, separation of man and women's job fields when hiring.

      In order to achieve equal employment at a work place, the government should enforce a law against indirect discrimination against women.

   2. Sexual violence in a work place vary from rape to sexual harassment. The current law only regulate sexually abused cases by one's status or position. However, women can be victims of sexual violence by various kinds of men including their coworkers or customers.

      We insist that the regulation of sexual violence in a work place should be established and preventive measures should be enacted. Owners of the companies should also educate their employees and enhance their awareness on sexual violence.

   3. An exclusive body for equal employment should be set up in the administrative organization. Women superintendents system should be introduced. Currently, they only accounts less than 10 percent of the total labor superintendents. Moreover, an equal employment committee should be restructured so that it can handle sexual abused cases.

   4. In order to solve problems of sexual discrimination, we need an active measure for women's participation in public sector.

      The survey shows that women public officials only accounts 4 percent of the total number as of 1996. Therefore, the quota system should be introduced in various works of public sectors. For example, 20 percent allocation of public official, schools, enterprises should be secured for women. Women's promotion should be considered in terms of quota system.

4. Maternity Protection and Health
   1. Compared to the ILO agreement, the level of Korea's maternity protection is very low. Costs of maternity protection hasn't been secured enough.

      We insist that the period of maternity leave should be extended up to 90 days. When women have an abortion, they and their spouses should have at least 7 days vacation to take care of their body and mind. Regardless of the type of women's employment, their income should be secured during the period of maternity leave. Medical insurance and medicare should be responsible for the costs when giving a birth to their child.

   2. Overworking of pregnant women is directly related to their maternity and health. We insist that a law should prohibit pregnant women workers not to work at night. The law should also secure one day medical checkup for pregnant women workers.

      Along with ILO's maternity protection agreement, the related ministry should extend the period of maternity leave when they have diseases due to their pregnant and delivery.

   3. Currently, a growing number of women workers is getting occupational diseases due to the use of cancer causing materials and chemical hazards. The government should set up necessary measures to prevent women workers from occupation diseases.

      Therefore, the operation of industrial disaster insurance should not be privatized. And a law should be enforced regarding this matter. We insist some policies for women workers: finding the exact use of hazardous materials and chemicals, improving the bad working conditions and restructuring the inefficient working procedures, regularizing the health heckups, developing the rehabilitation programs, etc.

   4. In the past, paid menstruation leave was secured due to protect women workers who have worked under bad circumstances such as low income, long working hours, short period of vacation, etc.

      Now, the government and businesses has submitted a bill that will extend the period of maternity leave presupposing the abrogation of menstruation leave. We insist several policies here: the continuation of paid menstruation leave, the improvement of low wages, the guarantee of 40 hours per week, the freedom of use vacational period, etc.

      Rather than the abolition of menstruation leave, both men and women workers should have a day off to checkup their health.

5. Supporting Children
   1. According to the statistics, as of 1995, only 7.9 percent of women workers took temporary leave for their children. The employment insurance fund has paid the financial support fund for children. Currently, many working women don't take this temporary leave, because they aren't paid during the period. Their job security isn't guaranteed when returning to a work place. Therefore, the two conditions should be satisfied in order to stabilize the system of temporary leave for their children.

   2. Currently, the number of childcare facilities in work places marks 117, and 14 work places give some of financial supports for their employees' children. First of all, the government's policy should be changed from facility-oriented to child-oriented. It should also support the companies' activity on childcare services including financial supports for teachers among many others. It should regulate to facilitate a childcare center at a work place where over 150 employees are working.

   3. Since 1995, the system of family nursing care leave has been allowed among public officials and educational public service employees. However, only 21 among the total used this system (7 men and 14 women). We insist that companies should also introduce the system of family nursing care leave. And they should not discriminate a person who would use this system in promotion and further education.

6. Application of Four Social Insurance, Labor Standard Law and Equal Employment Law at any work places

   In Korea, 62.7 percent of women are working at a small factory where there are only under 4 persons. They don't get any advantages from various labor related laws.

   We insist that no matter how small companies they are, they should apply for social insurance, Labor Standard Law and Equal Employment Law. Even women workers in informal sector should be treated fairly as ones in formal sector.

7. Maternity Protection and Equal Employment for Women Public Officials

   Women public officials and educational public service employees should be benefited from the current Labor Standard Law and Equal Employment Law. Their maternity should be protected. Recently, the number of women public officials and educational public service employees have rapidly grown in Korea. However, their rights haven't been secured.

   We insist that they should be favored by all kinds of labor laws, maternity protection, equal employment.