- Press conference of labor and women groups for the abolition of discriminatory practices for married women workers with declaration of boycott for Kumbokju



On the 29th of March at 11:30 a.m., a priest punched a sign that reads retirement after marriage with his fist with all his strength in Gwanghwamun Square. It was a part of the press conference that Women and labor groups such as the Korea Women Workers Association and the National Women's Labor Union held in Gwanghwamun Square. It was held to condemn the Ministry of Employment and Labor for failing to supervise as well as to declare a nationwide boycott on Kumbokju, which has been forcing married female workers to retire for 58 years.

 

 The retirement due to marriage is still alive in our society despite our belief, at least in Kumbokju. Ms. A, who was working for the company was forced to retire after informing the company of her marriage. After she turned it down, an executive came and said that it was the company's practice to quit when a worker gets married. In fact, there are no married women workers among the white-collar workers in the company. The employers have operated the company in this way for 58 years since its founding without any sanctions. This was revealed when Ms. A appealed to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

 

 This case created a big stir In Daegu. Local women 's groups called for apology and prevention of recurrence of the same practices in joint actions. Kumbokju made a superficial apology. During this process, Park Hong-koo, the CEO of the company, generated a bigger controversy by saying that the company didn’t recruit female workers because they weren’t necessary. The right of women workers to work regardless of their marital status is also specified in the Constitution and the Equal Employment Act. Also, Chapter 2 of the Equal Employment Act stipulates equal opportunities and treatment for men and women.

 

 Women's groups in Daegu will declare boycott campaign on Kumbokju and will hold a launching ceremony tomorrow. The women groups present in the press conference declared a nationwide boycott.

 

 Jin-kyung Bae, Co-representative of Korean Women Workers Association said that we are living in the era of regression. She commented that she wishes to live in a country where basic labor rights for women are ensured pointing out the fact that practice of forcing resignation to married women is still in place, which was supposed to have been abolished by the Equal Employment Act enacted on 1988.

 

 The Chairperson of National Women's Labor Union and Chairman, Ji Hyun Na said that no persons in the National Assembly and the government is taking responsibility for this matter. She claimed that it is caused by the Ministry of Employment and Labor since it has overlooked such practices for 58 years.

 

 The acting commissioner of the KCTU, Jong-jin Choi, openly declared that the 80,000 union members of the KCTU will take the lead for the boycott campaign against Kumbokju.

 

 The women and labor groups that hosted the press conference are planning to carry out nationwide boycott campaign against Kumbokju. They will show how companies that do not observe the business ethics can face difficulties in management. At the same time, they will ask for a meeting to the Ministry of Employment and Labor to demand an nationwide investigation on the violation of the Equal Employment Act with a focus on Seongseo Industrial Complex in Dague, where Kumbokju is located.

 

 



<Press conference statement>

 

 In 1985, women groups insisted on eliminating the retirement age for women. At that time, the average age of marriage for women was 26, which led to an assumption that they can stay in the labor market only until the age of 25. It was a fight against early retirement at the age of 25. The 1987 Act on the Equal Employment Act stipulates the right not to be discriminated due to marriage. Since then, the practices of women's early retirement have gradually disappeared in our society.

 

 Nevertheless in 2016, we are facing bizarre situations. The retirement due to marriage, which we thought already disappeared, was roaming like a ghost. It took place in Kumbokju, a major liquor company in Daegu. All female workers have been laid off after their marriage for 58 years since the establishment of the company. There is only one female worker who has been promoted for last 58 years. Corporate executives urged women workers to resign, saying that it was the customary of the company when female workers were refusing resignation after marriage. Certain female worker had to go through exemption from important tasks, unjustified transfer of the team and even group bullying. The situation is bitter, just like the taste of Soju, the strong alcohol of 30 percent proof.

 

 In Daegu, women groups are demanding to Kumbokju in great solidarity to apologize, prevent reoccurrence, eliminate gender discrimination and establish a system that can ensure sustainable work for women. Currently, these groups are participating in boycott campaign. boycott. However, the problem presents not only in Daegu. As Kumbokju is running its business throughout the country, boycotting needs to be conducted beyond Daegu. Today we declare the boycott against Kumbokju. We urge the employers of Kumbokju to build a sustainable environment for female workers as soon as possible.

 

 We were also surprised that this kind if “custom" had survived without any resistance for 58 years. It is also astonishing that the Ministry of Employment and Labor did not know it at all. Isn’t it that the Ministry of Employment and Labor actually a hidden supporter of the Kumbokju? The Ministry of Employment and Labor always says that they can not take measures until there are specific incidents. They send back women workers who want counselling for maternity leave, insisting that they can come again after the right is actually violated. Cases are dealt with mere formality rather than aiming for the prevention of problems. The case of Kumbokju was revealed by a report of a female worker who was forced resignation.

 

 But we know. One of the important roles of the Ministry of Employment and Labor is the supervision of work places, not just handling cases. We can also easily assume that the second and third cases similar to Kumbokju’s can be found elsewhere. The Ministry of Employment and Labor must thoroughly supervise whether there are companies that violate the Gender Equality Employment Act around the workplace of Kumbokju and beyond.

 

 We need to address this issue before any incident occurs. It is too late to wait until victims and their families suffer unnecessary agony. We are talking about the rights explicitly ensured by laws. Is it too much to expect to live in a country where basic rights are ensured?

 

 We demand the following:

- Build a system that allows women workers sustainable work as soon as possible!

- The Ministry of Employment and Labor must carry out a nationwide special investigation on violations of the Gender Equality Employment Act starting from Seongseo Industrial Complex!

 

 We also declare boycott of all products of the Kumbokju until the case is resolved.


 

March 29, 2016


Woman Labor Law Support Center, Women's Committee of Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, National Women's Labor Union, Federation of Korean Trade Unions, Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, Korean Women Workers Union, Korean Women's Association United, Women Link

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 Today, the ministries concerned jointly announced plans to strengthen the linkage between the employment of youth and women. The government still has not attained a fundamental view on the issue of female work. The key to the solution of the problem is the recognition that female work is low-wage and ancillary; also the fact that even workers with professional position are pushed out in their forties.

 

 Women are discouraged to work because of childcare and career breaks easily occur for them. Because female workers are concentrated in low-wage and ancillary jobs. As of August 2015, the average wage for male irregular worker is 53.7% (1,790,000 won) of what male regular workers receive (3,340,000 won). Female regular workers are paid 68.7% (2,229,000 won) while female irregular workers only receive 36.3% (1,219,000 won). 55.4% of irregular workers who are receiving an average of 1.21 million won a month are all female. Measures for improving employment for women must be taken with a focus on closing the gender wage gap, which is ranking as the worst among OECD countries, and solving the problem of irregular workers.

 

 In addition, the government-announced work-family balance policies are still focused on women, even though women are not only responsible for the current problem. Reducing working hours for men and women is the key to the reconciliation of work and family. Gender equality culture should be established both in work places and at home. However, the government is still setting the policy on the premise that women will work for the remaining time after taking the responsibility of childcare alone.

 

 Why is the government always working on minor issues, avoiding looking into the core of the matter? We would like to conclude this comment with some questions that came after the government’s plan.

 

1. Promote use of maternity leave and prevent career discontinuation of old age or high-risk mothers by acknowledging pregnancy as a cause of maternity leave.

-> Civil servants and teachers can use pregnancy leave. Why should workers in the private sector use childcare leave for pregnancy?

 

2. Promote use of maternity leave and parental leave and prevent unfair dismissal by linking and monitoring the data of health insurance and employment insurance

-> Voices of the field are not reflected as the biggest obstacle in taking the maternity leave is lack of the employer's approval.

-> It is like a doctor coming after the death. How could we secure the effectiveness of preventive measures?

 

3. Where can we see a way for a irregular woman worker to use pregnancy leave and maternity leave?

 

4. Expand introduction of a system of flexitime for certain period starting from the government and public institutions.

-> Isn’t it more urgent to provide options for setting a certain period for current flexitime workers?

-> Why only women are required to find a flexitime job?

 

5. Enhance the effectiveness of active measures for improvement of employment. Consider the indicators for work-family balance for evaluation including existence of day care centers, use of flexitime system, use of paternity leave. Announce the bad practices when the employers fail to meet the requirements.

-> This only applies to workplace with more than 500 employees. Expanding the range of application, specifying the type of employment, specifying the position of the management, introducing penalties and incentives are required for effective operation of the policy.

 

Co-representative of Korean Women Workers Association,

Yun-ok Lim, Jin-kyung Bae

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 The reality of women workers living in Korea is as follows.

 

 About 8.5 million female workers, about 4.7 million, taking up 55.4% of the total, are irregular workers. Once the United Nations Commission on Women advised the Korean government to reduce the number of women irregular workers. The wage gap between men and women is the highest in the OECD countries, and the wage of women irregular workers is only 36.3% of the one of men.

 

 Under such circumstances, the government is pursuing labor reform that enables employers to dismiss workers by the effectiveness of performance. With practices and cultures of current labor market, women workers are likely to be the first to be considered as low performers. Also only 1% of female irregular workers are organized for collective actions. Therefore, non-regular female workers who do not have collective agreements are subject to the rules of employment. We remember the fact that women workers were the first to be laid off during the last IMF financial crisis.

 

 The problems of female workers whose career is interrupted because of the difficulty of balancing work and family life. Still in these days, female workers are being laid off for pregnancy, childbirth and childcare, and discriminatory culture and practices continues in terms of sexual harassment as well as employment and wages.

 

 The minimum wage is 6,030 won per hour in 2016, and the monthly salary is 1,260,000 won per month. The minimum wage is the actual wage for the majority of 4.7 million non-regular women workers. The number of indirectly employed workers, such as in cleaning services, where many middle-aged female workers are working, is increasing amounting to be more than 2 million.

 

 The realities of the public sector, which is supposed to have a modeling role, are not different. There are 470,000 irregular workers in the public sector, and 130,000 underemployed workers are paid less than the minimum wage. Among them, 370,000 irregular workers work in schools. Excluding irregular teachers, dispatched workers, and fixed-term teachers, about 150,000 are left and 93.4% of them are women. The union members in schools, who make up the majority of women's labor unions in the nation, plan to continue efforts to resolve discrimination by improving wages and collective agreements starting with the general strike of Jeonbuk branch on the 8th of April.

 

 Women’s child care and care work for the elderly are considered unpaid care work or regarded insignificant. Home care workers, estimated to be 300,000, are not even recognized as workers, and are working in harsh working conditions, being exposed to job insecurity, wage depreciation, unfair treatment, long or too short work hours.

 

 In short, the problem is that no environment is secured where women workers can work safely and comfortably. The demands and wishes of our women workers can be put into a sentence; “Ensure the right of women workers to work safely!”

 

 On April 13, we will vote to elect lawmakers. We will carefully select candidates who want to improve the reality of women workers by thoroughly examining whether they have wills and alternatives to solve the problems of women workers, and whether there are commitments and policies for the problems of irregular workers. We will also continue to monitor.

 

 The National Women’s Labor Union and the Korean Women Workers Association will carry out the campaign ‘The Right of Women Workers to Work Safely’ throughout the whole country in order to change this reality little by little.

 

 From today, women workers in the nation are united to demand the followings for the year 2016.

 

 Six Wishes of Female Workers in 2016

 First, immediately stop labor reform that will further fuel the job insecurity of 8 million women!

 First, strengthen the system for pregnancy, childbirth and childcare to harmonize work and family life, and take aggressive measures to eliminate the culture and practices of sexual discrimination at work including sexual harassment!

 First, female workers are poor even though they work hard! Raise the minimum wage to 10,000 won to ensure a basic living!

 First, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Education must take the lead in resolving the discrimination against women and irregular workers by actively addressing the demands of the irregular workers in the schools, 93.4% of which are female workers.

 First, recognize domestic workers as legal workers! Establish special laws and create more jobs for protection of female workers!

 First, protect care services for public interests and improve labor rights and treatment of care workers!

 

March 14, 2016

National Women's Labor Union, Korean Women Workers Association

 

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Retreating policies on gender equality: focusing on policies from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family

 

 According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Report, South Korea ranked 116th in wage gap between women and men. Korea ranked behind Nepal and Cambodia. Economic growth that the country achieved was glossy, yet it was a result of exploitation of women workers, and discrimination against women still exists. A few days ago, my author, who is in a university now, said this to me. " It is more difficult for a woman to get a job, even if we study hard as men do. Gender equality..? What the crap."

 

 We all know that it is unlikely that male bread winners can support the family as it they did in the 70s and the 80s. Future is so uncertain and unstable in this ear that everyone, men and women, are all irregular workers. The instability in our lives is a result of wrong policies that Park Geun-hye administration is promoting, policies that expand inequality, instead of reducing it. The retrogressive reform of the labor market is a good example. If the labor market is reformed as the government intends, people will be working as irregular workers in their entire lives like salves; they will work as irregular workers in their 20s, part-time workers in their 30s, and dispatched workers in their 50s.

 

 If you look at the counseling cases in our Call for Equality, the only available job for a woman who went to graduate school but discontinued her career is a job with the minimum wage, which pays her 1,200,000 won a month. The government said that they will create decent part-time jobs, yet they are converting regular jobs into part-time jobs with poor working conditions. It is uncommon to see the cases that the employer sign the contract for only 11 months in order to avoid the retirement pay. The government promised solutions for the women's career discontinuity, yet in the past five years, we have 26,000 women who were fired because they could not get the maternal leave. Moreover, sexual harassment, insulting individual's character, and human right violence are going worse and worse! What are the government, who is supposed to protect the people and enforce the law, and especially the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, who is supposed to protect women's human rights, doing now?

 

 It is the government and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family that who must be fired because of their unsatisfactory performance in fulfilling their constitutional duties to protect the rights of the people. We, women, will not hesitate in demanding our rights but we will stand up for our constitutional rights. The more they try to oppress us, the more persistently we will arise. We urge the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to respect and obey the constitutional law.

 


November 25th, 2015

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Three non-profit organizations for domestic workers press conference,

 

Stop lying about the legislation for domestic work! Stop now!

We condemn the Ministry of Employment and Labor for its idleness!



 On Friday November 6th, the National House Managers’ Cooperation, YWCA Korea, and the National Domestic Workers Association hosted a press conference at the main gate of the National Assembly.

 

 In February, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that they will legislate a law ‘act on usage of domestic service and employment of in-home workers’ in March. It is almost at the end of the year, yet the promise from the ministry is missing. Now, the three organizations hosted the press conference to condemn the ministry for its idleness.

 

 In the conference Yoon Hyeon-Mi, a president of the National House Managers’ Cooperation, argued that domestic workers should stop just waiting the legislation but the workers voice their requests so that we can achieve the new law that protects domestic workers’ human rights and labor rights.

 

 Kim Jae-Soon, who also gave a speech at the conference, spoke up about the reality of domestic workers that the workers lack break , vacation, any protection from the injury at work. She also condemned that the work is unstable as workers are often fired without any notice and they have nowhere even when their clients treated them as a thief or offend their feeling with verbal abuse.

 

 Reading a joint statement for the press conference, the representatives of the three organization requested that; the article 11 clause 1 in the Labor Standard Act, which excludes domestic workers from the scope of application of the law, must be deleted; the law protecting domestic workers must be legislated promptly; stable work environment where domestic workers can work safely must be created; public assistance for single-parent, low-income families must be expanded;the government must establish policies that cultivate non-profit domestic service provider organizations. The three organizations conduct a performance condemning the empty word of ministry by breaking rice chips which is empty inside.



Joint statement

 A missing legislation: we strongly condemning the empty word of the government that ignores people

 

 It has been five years since the alliance of domestic workers’ organizations and civic groups in the labor movement has proposed amendment of the Labor Standard Act and legislation of a law protecting domestic workers in 2010. Meanwhile, outside the country the ILO convention concerning domestic workers in 2011;inside the country, national assembly of Korea urged the ratification of the convention in 2011, the Korea Tripartite Commission made its official request for protection for domestic workers in 2012.

 

 After all these long discussions, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that they will promote ‘formalization of informal labor market’ as a means of ‘improving labor market structure in order to create more jobs’ in January 13, 2015. In February 24th, the ministry also made an announced that they will legislate a law to formalize domestic workers in the informal labor market and enforce it next year.

 

 It seemed that the legal protection of domestic workers are on the progress; indeed, domestic workers and citizens who heard the news about the legislation paid attention to the issue, expecting that the government pays attention to the reality of people and brings a real change that people actually can see. So did we domestic workers organizations. Although the result of our continuous request for amendment of the Labor Standard Act, which can bring a profound change, is not our satisfactory, we agreed that the announcement from the ministry about the legislation would be a big step towards the stability in employment of domestic workers. So we hosted forums and educated people in order to gather voice from the workers and to reach out people.

 

 However, at the almost end of year, in October, we do not see the promise, which is supposed to be fulfilled as one of the major tasks of the government. There is long way to go to legislate, such as, hosting public hearing, making a legislation notice, and searching funding for the legislation, yet the government keeps silence on this matter. Where did the promise with the people go? Was the promise that gave hope to domestic workers and the people about the change just a empty word? Did they just threw it out there? The Ministry of Employment and Labor, as a ministry in charge, must show us a road map for the legislation; when and with what contents will they propose the legislation? When will the law will be enforced? How will they find the financial source for the enactment of the law?

 

 All these questions must be answered specifically and clearly. We also request an official meeting with the minister of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The minister avoided answering the national assembly members' questions, showing very irresponsible attitude in the parliamentary inspection of the administration. As a chair of the ministry that governs administrations on employment and labor, he must express a formal position of the government in the meeting with us. On behalf of 300,000 domestic workers, we request to the government as follow.

 

 First, the article 11 clause 1 in the Labor Standard Act, which excludes domestic workers from the scope of application of the law, must be deleted!

 Second, the law protecting domestic workers must be legislated immediately!

 Third, stable work environment where domestic workers can work safely must be created!

 Fourth, public assistance for single-parent, dual-earner, and low-income families must be expanded!

 Fifth, the government must establish policies that cultivate non-profit domestic service provider organizations!



November 6th, 2015


Members of the National House Managers’ Cooperation, YWCA Korea, and the National Domestic Workers Association

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National House Managers Cooperation and Korean Women Workers Association


 We have been struggling to stand against the gendered perception of domestic work, that the works is women's worker, and to locate the work in the right place. We debunked that it is against the social justice and discriminatory that the domestic work is not protected by the labor law and thus the law does not protect workers' human rights. Above all, we have been struggling to change the social perception of domestic workers by calling them 'house managers' instead of ' domestics' or 'helpers', in order to gain social recognition of the work. We contributed to the adoption of The Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers in ILO in 201, playing a significant role in protecting domestic workers' human rights and labor rights.

 

 However, in reality, domestic service is provided without a proper contract. As a result, the industry is ruled by a grab-bag approach which often cause conflicts between the workers and clients. Domestic workers work 4 hours for a client, and the 4-hours work has no clear job description. This leads workers to work without a break or to work too much, causing chronic illness related to the work. On the other hand, clients experience difficulties in choosing services they need, as they have different preferences and expectations.

 


 To address this issue, the National House Managers' Cooperation,  Korean Women Workers Association, the workers , and researchers conducted a research project to develop a job manual for domestic work in 2014.  Based on the project, we developed; ▲ a job manual, which defines a boundary of domestic service and time that is need for the each services; ▲  rules that governs rights and obligations of both service providers and recipients; ▲ the Terms and Conditions for domestic service and the Standard Contract for Domestic Service. 


 As from today's press conference, we will carry on a public campaign to promote the wide usage of the contract, in order to protect the workers' human rights and rights of the clients. In addition, our workers will sign the contract with their actual clients. By writing the contract, we want;  ▲ to improve the social perception of domestic work; ▲to change the wildly used but denigrating terms referring domestic workers to house manager;▲ to re-evaluate the value of domestic work, which has long been devalued; ▲to recover self esteem of domestic workers by declaring them as workers; ▲to guarantee the rights and the obligations of workers and clients; ▲to re-locate domestic work in this society. 


 Wishing that domestic work is respected as an important job, we request the government to play more active role in settling down the practice of writing the contract. 



July 2nd, 2015 


National House Managers Cooperation, Korean Women Workers Association.

Posted by KWWA
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'The wind of minimum wage raise, blow!'

- Decide the minimum wage that contribute to the solving the issues of social bi-polarization and wage gap between women and men!

June 25th, 2015



 Since the deputy finance minister's remarks that we need to raise the minimum wage to boost the domestic economy, debate around the minimum wage was heated as a social issue. However, the debate did not last long, apparently due to the opposition from the businesses, and the minimum wage meeting has started in the silence to decide the minimum wage for next year. In the sixth meeting of the committee meeting in June 23rd, the employers proposed to freeze of the minimum wage again, and even worse, they made insulting comments on the workers. The committee meeting is ongoing under the inappropriate atmosphere, far from its importance in deciding a national minimum wage.

 

 People who experience a direct impact from the minimum wage are low-income workers who earn the minimum wage and those who earn the less than the legal minimum wage. Today 2,270,000 of people are earning less than the minimum wage. Among them, women account for 1,480,000, irregular women workers account for1,400,000, and 62% of those who earn less than the minimum wage are irregular women workers. On top of that, more than two-millions of workers under indirect employment and part-time workers are affected from the minimum wage.

 

 Today, eight-millions of women workers exist in Korea. 56,11% of them, which correspond to 4,500,000 of women workers, are irregular workers and 61% of these irregular women workers belong to low-income group. Still, the country tops the wage gap between men and women among OECD countries. Abolishing discrimination in the labor market is a way to solving to problem of social bi-polarization. Are not we ready to give up the top spot in the OECD gender wage gap ranking ?

 

 The key to abolish the wage discrimination against women is to raise the minimum wage. Under the current minimum wage, the hourly wage is 5,580 won, and the monthly wage is 1,160,000 won. Aren’t we supposed to be able to make living when we work hard for a month? 2,090,000 won per month and 10,000won per hour are right and just pay for those who work hard.

 

 In today's harsh economy climate, the majority of people in our society are struggling to manage their lives. It is especially true for working women. The problem of social bi-polarization, which is the biggest issue of our society today, results in the issue of discrimination. It is especially necessary to prioritize this issue when times are rough. It is difficult times, but we need to develop alternatives and change the reality step by step. To the committee that will make a decision this month, we ask for the right decision on the minimum wage for next year, which will be the starting point of new era with 10,000 won minimum wage.

 


June 25th, 2015


Women workers who demand the raise of the minimum wage to 10,000 won.

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- We demand for regularization of workers from large corporations with financial base and public sector!



Today, we remember women workers in the U.S. who marched demanding for the suffrage and bread 107 years ago. To celebrate the international women's day, which inherits the spirit of these women workers' struggles and pledges for political freedom and equality for women, today in 2015 we declare women workers' requests.

 

 Today, 56.11% of 8 millions of women workers in Korea, which are about four-million-and fifty-hundreds of thousands of women workers, are irregular workers. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women advised South Korea to reduce the number of women irregular workers as it is excessively large now. Also, South Korea, among OECD countries, has topped with its biggest wage gap between men and women. Therefore, today's statement to remember and to inherit the struggle for freedom and equality for women is all about irregular women workers. Because, the very key in resolving the issue of discrimination against women workers is to address the issue of discrimination against irregular workers . Hence, discussion on irregular workers must be based on irregular workers' and women workers' perspectives.

 

 Yet when you look at the government's Comprehensive Alternatives for Irregular Work, you can hardly find any alternatives to address the issues of irregular workers, but you will find that it is all about making lay-off more flexible and restructuring regular workers' wages. How could it be alternatives, if it lacks discussions on women and irregular workers?

 

 This is not so different in the Flextime Employment policy, which is promoted by the government. This policy does not create more jobs, yet it converts 8-hours regular jobs into part-time jobs, degrading the working conditions, as well as the wages. This Flextime policy targets women, operating as a mechanism that lowers the quality of women workers' working conditions. In the public sector, the 8-hours work of in-home nurses was converted into part-time jobs. Cleaning workers in the Songdo residence of Yeonsei University were forced to choose either being fired or changing their employment into part-time, so they are still struggling. Looking at the statistics, 10.8% of total workers in Korea are part-time workers, and women account for 71.1% of the. When we say the hourly wage of regular workers is 100, irregular workers' wage is only 48; only 19.5% of irregular workers are covered by the employment insurance, and 13.1% of them receive retirement pay.

 

 Public sector, which is supposed to be a good model, is not so different. There are 470,000 of irregular workers in the public sector; 130,000 of them are receiving less than the minimum wages. They are supposed to be converted into regular workers after two years of employment as irregular workers in the public sector, 185,878 irregular workers, which correspond to 73.8% of the eligible irregular workers, were not converted in 2013.

 

 In addition, people think that small and medium size corporations hire irregular workers due to their weak financial base, yet the 10 largest corporations in the country hire 440,000 of irregular workers, which accounts for 36.3% of total irregular workers in the country. Is not the social responsibility of big corporations with strong financial base that they show good examples of addressing issues in irregular work ?

 

 It is estimated that more than two millions of workers are under indirect employment now. The only legal protection for these workers for now, however, is the dispatched work act. Recently we see more conflicts around the indirect employment. Without any legal alternatives, these workers are being forced to accept lay-off or degrading working conditions.

 

 Today, the majority of people in our society are struggling to manage their lives. It is especially true for working women. Solving the problem of social bi-polarization, which is the biggest issue of our society today, is especially necessary when times are rough. In this difficult times, we need to develop alternatives and change the reality step by step.


 Today, celebrating the international women's day, we want to emphasize  in this statement that  we contribute to solving the problem of the social bi-polarization by improving the quality of lives of women workers. Wishing that the government , politicians, and everyone can think about the lives of 8 millions of women workers in March, we declare women workers' 7 requests. 



7 request from women workers in 2015.

Develop a comprehensive solutions to improve the quality of employment of 4500,000 irregular women workers!

Second, convert all irregular workers in public sectors into regular workers and employ those indirectly-employed workers directly!

Third, the biggest 10 corporations should develop a good model of the labor market that addresses the issue of 440,000 irregular workers they are hiring!

Fourth, abolish the Flextime employment policy, which focuses on the quantity of the jobs only, and establish new policies for quality jobs for women!

Fifth, raise the minimum wage substantially to guarantee the security of lives of working poor women!

Sixth, legislate the law that clarifies legal responsibility for indirectly employed workers!

Seventh, legislate the law for workers under special employment that obliges to join the occupational health and safety insurance and employment insurance!

 

 

March 6th, 2015.


Korean Women's Trade UnionKorean Women Workers AssociationActivists in the 70s (Kwon Soon-Gab, Kim Ji-Sun, Maria Lee, Lee Chong-Gak, Jung Sun-Soon, Cho Ok-Hwa, Choi Soon-Young)


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- Wage would be the best solution for problem of discontinuance of career

 

 Government, today, pronounced [part-time job vitalization follow-up complementary measure]. However this measure is just measure threatening whole women’s job by making employment insecure. The measure that expands social security coverage to women workers who work for plural part-time job is the same as a policy that exposes women workers to danger of death from overwork by encouraging women who are able to do stable work at a work place to work multiple part-time jobs. Vitalization of part-time job is just the same as cutting down women’s total wage. If truly wanted to discuss part-time job policy, applying entirely labor related laws to worker with less than 15 working hour would be the first step.

 

 Choi KyeongHwan, the deputy Prime Minister, at the visit to Washington to attend to an annual general meeting of IMF and World Bank on 11th (local time), said “without an increase in wage, the economy won’t be revived” while meeting with press and reporters, and “as uncontrollable cost like communication cast and housing cost is of great importance, disposable income that household actually can put to use is the very least. In this situation, the economy can’t be revived”.

 

 It is not only related to issue of economy vitalization but deeply related to economic activity rates of women. The key point of work-life balance policy is not about working hour policy but income policy. As everyone knows, gender wage gap in Korea is 37.4% as of 2012, which has been ranking the first among OECD members for 13 years. Average wage of male is 2,500,000 won while the one of female is 1,500,000 won. This is the point that career discontinuance of women occurs. If women have to work with 1,500,000 won as monthly payment which is almost the same as minimum wage, they can’t help giving up their jobs. It is because that level of wage causes deficit in terms of living cost and results in sense of exhaustion, therefore women judge that holding that kind of job is no practical use. At this situation, pushing career-disrupted women to part-time job being paid low wage is driving them out to the other brink from a brink.

 

 Also, labor income share is decreasing day by day and income of top 1% has being growing geometrically. Attention to inequality increases and Piketty syndrome is boiling up all over the world. At the center of this problem, wage concern of women exists in Korea.

 

 Choi KyeongWhan, the deputy Prime Minister, said “it tends to be thought that an increase in ordinary wage brings about difficulties in enterprise environment, but current economic situation is not like that. An increase in wage revives economy”. We have to pay attention to women’s wage. Wage of women holds core key for economic vitalization, solution of career discontinuance, economic activity rates of women.

 

 The policy that government should enact is not expansion of part-time job, but alleviation of gender wage gap and an increase in disposable income. For that, a priority should be given to a policy that reduces substantially women non-standard workers and increase minimum wage sharply as USA and UK implemented. Also, labor income share should be raised. Retention money that enterprise has accumulated should be distributed to workers. Government completely knows the cause of the problem. We hope that government doesn’t continue to make mistake, any more, that repeats to adopt a stopgap measure (‘scratch a leg of an elephant”), ignoring what they already knows.



October 15, 2014


Korea Women Workers Association / Korea Women’s Trade Union

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 National Assembly and Government must ratify ILO convention to protect domestic workers as soon as possible!

- A member state of OECD, Korea, a state of 15th to ratify the ILO convention!


 International domestic workers day is established at June 16, 2011, celebrating adoption of ‘Convention on the protection of domestic workers’ which was adopted at 100th ILO general assembly to ensure labor right and social right to one hundred million domestic workers all over the world. 


 All over the nation, around 300 thousands domestic workers, called house manager, postnatal care manager, home day care worker, and etc., work professionally. Due to change of social environment and family structure, contribution of domestic workers into society has increased. Nevertheless social environment where they work, having worth and being healthy, is not prepared. Domestic workers have not been protected by legal frame such as minimum wage and 4 major social securities since 1953 when Labor Standard Act was enacted. 


 As such problems are concerned internationally, in 2011 ILO ratified ‘domestic workers protection convention’ after several year discussion. And 14 states such as Philippines, Uruguay as well as Germany and Italy have ratified the convention. Also at 4 states including Chile, international campaign is being carried out, aimed to ratify in this year.  


 However, Korean government has not been working on to take active action or have communication with domestic workers’ organization with earnest attention but conducted a couple of research work. Last 2012, a bill was proposed to National Assembly, afterward no single follow-up steps was taken. It represents attitude to neglect domestic workers who are in number, at minimum, 300 thousands and abandons government responsibility to ensure labor right and social right which is basic right of nation.   


 Therefore, commemorating 2nd International Domestic Workers Day, we, domestic workers, demand for the followings in order to increase decent care jobs and to secure labor rights. 


 First, Korean government that represented a stand for adoption of ILO domestic workers protection convention should concretely prepare to ratify the convention with responsibility. Government must start discussion on administrative procedure and amendment of relevant laws like the Labor Standard Act by establishing ‘social dialogue’ organization together with domestic workers, customers (employers), civic labor organization. 


 Second, cover immediately unemployment insurance and occupational health and safety insurance to domestic workers by priority! Ensure basic medical cost and living cost for domestic workers that are in difficulty in taking appropriate treatment even though they are easily exposed to various kind of danger at working place!


 Third, build a public employment-supporting mechanism for domestic work to manage the quality of employment as well as service! Increase support for public Non-profit job-supporting organization such as cooperative, social enterprise, free employment agency! 


 June 16, 2014 National House Manager Cooperative, Korean Domestic Workers’ Association, Young Women's Christian Association of Korea



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