[vol.10] Special_ The Present Situation and Tasks of the Women Workers' Movement
WORKING WOMAN 2008. 3. 20. 11:11| Facing the 10th anniversary of KWAU, we hosted a forum inviting those women who have fully involved in the women workers' movement. The past ten years have been more than the length of time. In the meeting, we tried to reflect the past situation and to seek for the future tasks.
It was very pity that the KCTU(Korean Confederation of Trade Unions) could not attend to the meeting. The meeting provided a good venue for us to think about the overall aspect towards the women workers' movement. Here we have brought the contents of the meeting in order to share with our readers of "Working Women". |
Participants:
Han : Myonghee Han, co-representative of Korea Women's Associations United(KWAU)
Rhie : Maria Rhie, representative of Korean Women Workers Associations United(KWWAU)
Yoo : Ock-soon Yoo, chairwoman of Seoul Women Workers Association (SWWA)
Choi : Sanglim Choi, chairwoman of Inchon Women Workers Association (IWWA)
Kim : Jisun Kim, advisory board member of IWWA
Un : Unym, chief of the Women's Bureau of Federation of Korean Chemical Union(FKCU)
Wang : In-soon Wang, secretary-general of KWWAU, MC.
MC : Thank you for your participation. It has already been ten years since the Korean Women Workers' Association (KWWA was changed to SWWA in 1992 when KWWAU, a national network of regional Women Workers' Associations was created) was established.
We have invited you who have committed yourselves for the women workers' movement, in order to share about the past activities and the future tasks. First of all, let's talk about the background of establishing KWWA and the situation at that time.
▶ Myonghee Han, co-representative of KWAU
Han : We viewed the year of 1986 as the time to set up an organization for popularizing the workers' movement, while the period of the 70s was to defend about ten democratic trade unions. In 1986, those women workers, who had been dismissed from their jobs owing to their struggles for democratic unions, were preparing for "the ceremony for the memory of the late militant Kyoung-sook Kim."
The regime banned the ceremony and put the police force into the sites, so it could not be held in spite of our hard job. We were inspired by activities and struggles of the late Kyoung-sook Kim, and planned to form a memorial foundation for her. However, we all agreed to form a mass organization which could collect the voices of the women workers since the late Kyoung-sook Kim had struggled for overcoming the double pains as a woman worker.
Besides, there was a strong need for supporting those women, who had worked for more than ten years but had been dismissed or forcibly left the work due to marriage. They needed some venue to rely on. We thought, such an organization was indispensible for the development of overall workers' movement.
MC : At the beginning, the establishment of the women workers' movement theory that could form an independent front of women workers, was our initial task. However, I remember that there was an atmosphere of understanding setting up an women workers' organization as a way to divide whole workers' movement or as a struggle against male workers.
Han : Even amongst women workers, there was a question why we should make an independent organization when workers really need to be united to fulfill the workers' movement. But we were in real need of having a structure which can launch a constant women workers' movement. For that we needed to have a structure which can be a hand for solving out women workers' problems.
▶ Jisun Kim, advisory of IWWA
Kim : Han talked about the situation of Seoul but, the situation of Inchon, in which I have worked, was a bit different.
In Inchon, there was a strong demand for an independent structure from the beginning of IWWA. At those days when we were preparing for the establishment of IWWA, our fellow women workers were already in the black list and they had no place to work at. Those who were banned from being employed and those who were not able to work after marriage, hoped to set up a "center for woman workers" where they could work out for skill training, network system for finding new jobs, and union activities.
However it was still beyond their abilities. 1985 was a new turning point for establishing the democratic trade union movement. The experience from the solidarity struggle of Kuro stimulated them to seek for a possibility. In the early 1986, the movement focused on the consolidation of woman power within the union movement. However, it was reflected that there was a limit to enforcing wholly to support the union movement in 1987.
We realized the importance of facing with the social problems, which systematizes the discrimination towards women. Also we saw the significance of reinforcing the activities to job training, education, running children care centers, and supports for the unions. In 1988 the dismissed woman workers and union activists could provide a space, "Children's House for Sharing" by the support from the American Methodist church. It was a venue for the establishment of IWWA.
MC : Could you describe main activities of trade unions and Women Workers' Associations (WWAs), which are two main missions of the women workers' movement, for the past 10 years?
Han : WWAs have been actively involved in the education and campaigns for women workers' problems since their establishment. Particularly we have devoted our best to assist union activities of making new unions, activating the existing unions, and supporting struggles against suppression since the massive workers' struggle in 1987.
There were no organizations or groups for educating unions in 1987 and 1988. Therefore, WWAs took the role. At that time, the number of applicants for the education was over our capacity so that we had to set up limits of the number.
▶ Ock-soon Yoo, chairwoman of SWWA
Yoo : In the case of Seoul, we sought for the ways of organizing and supporting the women's departments in unions, and we could regularize the meeting of women leaders and could improve discriminative wages for women, welfare for maternity, etc.
Han : In 1989 WWAs held "National Seminar for Woman Workers" and we did our best for consolidating women's venue in unions. It might be the first time to have overnight seminar at the national level for whole democratic workers' unions.
About 80 women leaders participated in the seminar and we could make a clear identity as women workers through deep sharing and exchanges of their experience at the national level. We could see the fruits of the seminar in the contents of the collective agreements afterwards. Maternity leave, children care leave, etc. were included in the collective agreements.
Yoo : One of the important activities of WWAs were the realization of the limitless possibility of family struggle. When there was a struggle, it was not lonely struggle of workers. We formed squads consisting of their families, which doubled the force of struggle. It was developed into a new dimension of women workers' movement.
Kim : Since the family struggle, the slogan of "Family members of the worker are also workers." has been popularized and the importance of family struggle has been emphasized. Now it becomes very common in workers' struggle.
▶ Maria Rhie, representative of KWWAU
Rhie : Even in the western countries, for instance, in Netherlands, trade unions support women's activities and furthermore, they organize wives of union members in order to help them understand activities of their husbands. Unions also provide meetings for male union members in order to discuss and share their roles. For the seek of more effective family struggle, there should be more efforts and new concerns in workers' union.
Yoo : At the beginning of the family struggle, many wives thought, "My husband is a worker but I am not." However their thoughts changed dramatically through their involvement. The problem is that their residences are different and they have no same concerns, hence all of them just scattered after the struggle.
It was not realized that they could remain as an onging organized family force. The SWWA saw a necessity of family organization based on the residential area. For those families, living in the same residential area, we provided some ordinary activities that could get the same interests from workers' families. From 1992, local activities of wives have been fulfilled. Through running child care centers, we have been helping married women find new jobs and make a good model of joint child care system.
▶ Sanglim Choi, chairwoman of IWWA
Choi : Before the 1990s, WWAs focused on supporting existing unions. But we felt a strong need of making specific women's issues in 1990s. Since a number of women workers are not organized, the union movement cannot solve out the problems of women workers.
Workers' unions on the company base cannot carry out lifelong women's struggle. In order to organize women workers who are all dispersed and to solve out women's problems in their whole life, the independent organization is indispensible. Specially in 1989 and 1990 many factories, whose main workforce was women, were closed due to industrial restructuring.
A number of unions were dismantled. In those days the main issue was job security. WWAs were the first which demanded to provide employment security for workers. We believe that our activities contributed to enacting the Employment Security Law in 1995.
▶ Unym Kim, chief of the Women's Bureau of FKCU
Un : Activities of women's department in the 70s were regarded as an accessory in the union. It was very difficult to make a woman leader in that situation. Even now the situation is almost same. If we provide one-year education to women workers in order to cultivate them as leaders, she will leave for her marriage or will be allocated into another union department.
It is very hard to work for women's issues within ordinary unions. In the unions where all members are women, they do not take women's perspective, so their awareness of women workers' issues are low. Moreover, the number of organized women is being decreased. Due to the worsening situation of employment, regular women workers are rapidly replaced by irregular or casual workers, and due to the economic situation, hundreds and tens of woman workers from a factory are suddenly dismissed in many workplaces.
At the present, 24% of whole members are women in the FKTU and about 50 are only female representatives. Only the metal industrial union had 60 - 70 were female representatives in the past. We can see the seriousness of female employment-related problems and their influences on the union activism.
MC : So far, WWAs have implemented various activities; education and promotion campaigns for women workers, general supports for union activities, organizing family struggle, struggles for law-making and proposals to government, constant efforts for finding women leaders for the unions, etc.
The independent issues of WWAs could be the struggles against the discriminative wages, for protecting women workers' maternity, child care, job training, etc. WWAs have worked out for them more effectively than the unions, and have been able to get more benefits for women workers through the collective agreement. To what extent women workers' issues are obtained in collective agreements now, particularly in the women-centered industries?
Un : In those industries, basic things are almost achieved such as 60 day maternity leave, parenting leave, etc. Specially in the workplaces where union have female representatives, more than 60 day maternity leave is provided.
In some places, workers can have 70 to 80 day maternity leave excluding public holidays. However, in the male-centered industries, it is hard to have improvements in the maternity leave. There still exist companies which compel pregnant women to quit their jobs. We hope that women continue to work but, we all know well that it is really hard. In women-centered industries, there are many women leaders. Recently, very few unions exist in the small and medium enterprises. The number of woman leaders is decreasing.
Choi : In the case of Inchon, the most of women-centered factories with less than 300 employees have been closed. For example, in the garment industry, most of the unions were dismissed. Factories were downsized as subcontractors. Now, we have to think.
How can we organize those woman workers who lost jobs, those who work now as irregular workers, and those who work now but don't know when they may lose jobs? We have put our concern for the issue of job security since the early 90s. We are now trying to set up an organization like "a garment workers' cooperative"
Un : In the case of the unions under the FKCU, only 5 out of 13 women representatives work as full-timers for their unions. This means that there is no room for them to work actively. In the food industry, there are a higher number of female members, but they do not manage to challenge for representatives.
In the case of medicine manufacturing, the number of workers is very small due to the automation so that it is hard for women to go for female representatives. Every industry under the FKTU would be put in the same condition where the number of female representatives is small so that it is hard to have seats for women in the central committee.
▶ In-soon Wang, secretary-general of KWWAU
MC : You have shared a lot about the difficulties at present. Shall we talk about ways to overcome problems?
Rhie : We can get through the problem of decreasing members when we take countermeasures to organize irregular workers and temporary workers. In the western countries, for the sake of maintaining union members, they organize not only the workers in a factory but other workers, too.
In the case of coffee industry, those agricultural workers in coffee farms, which deliver their products to the factory, are also organized together. We cannot find the way to overcome the decreasing membership without taking into consideration organizing the irregular workers. It is an important time to actively organize the temporary workers and part-time workers since the irregular employment is being rapidly expanded.
FKTU should pay more attentions to women workers' activities. At present, there is no women's bureau in the KCTU, so unbalanced gender composition are occurring. I hope this can be solved soon.
For the sake of activation of women's projects in unions, I hope, problems of women workers can be handled even through distributing even an hour in every education programme for union members. This is the same for other women's organizations.
Observing the international flow, if ICFTU accepts the regulation of reserving 30% quota for women in leadership, its member countries should keep the regulation. Then, Korea also can have a chance to expand the woman leadership, because Korea joins ICFTU.
Kim : The move by a few heads is not enough. We should provide how mass could participate. In spite of constant support for the democratic workers' union movement, there is no women's department in KCTU. Even though WWAs have tried our best to root down the women workers' movement, this kind of foundation for our activities cannot go beyond. In order to organize diverse groups of woman workers, we should organize them under the name of women.
Choi : In the case of KCTU, various women's issues should be brought to their tasks of union movement.
MC : Unions have developed many activities of education, promotions, industrial security, etc., however, their activity levels are not sufficient enough to address women's issues.
Un : Activities of FKTU related to women's issues will be manifested in the national convention on February 28, 1997 when FKTU reports this year's projects. In this year, there will be three gatherings for women workers including climbing mountain. It is also planned to have an open forum based on the research outcomes, which was conducted last year about the present situation.
And there will be another research on occupational diseases of the women workers in the chemical industry. The education programme will also be strengthened. Even though this move is very slow, there is certainly a change and improvement of awareness of women's issues in FKTU. We will do our best to use, in the union activities, education programmes provided by women organizations.
MC : Ordinary activities of trade unions are important. An development of policies and institutional struggles for women workers' problems are also very important. In regards to the countermeasure policies and institutional struggles, the roles of WWAs and KWAU are very important. In the case of KWAU, they supported actively WWA's struggles before 1990 and this focus has shifted into providing and implementing policy suggestions for women workers' issues.
Han : Before 1990s, KWAU was always with women workers. I still have vivid memories of those days when we looked through slum areas in Inchon with Woo-Jeong Lee, first chairperson of KWAU, in order to help those women who were sexually abused during their strikes. Since 1991, KWAU has put more efforts in the political activities, and levels of its supports to women workers have been changed. Sometimes I miss its previous emphasis and activities.
I think that KWAU needs to return to the previous attitudes and activities for women workers. However, KWAU has to digest general problems of women, issues related sex and gender, educations, and other ordinary issues in that we cannot focus on solely women workers' issues in relation to the economic structure. Of course, KWAU will continue to work out for various demands. And the activities of KWAU so far have maintained its present status, which stands firmly as a main body of the progressive woman movement.
WWAs are needed to be involved in women's empowerment and advancement in economic and political dimension, which is the main task of this year. As the main task in the women workers' movement is also that of the general women's movement, we need to have on-going and intentional efforts of WWAs in order to situate women workers' issues as the main task in KWAU.
MC : We have shared our opinions of tasks and future direction, evaluation, and reflection. I think, we really need to have joint efforts of FKTU, WWAs and KWAU, theses days. Could you speak a little more about the things in relation to our tasks?
Rhie : The organization with strong strength does not need any help from its superior organization. The organization in difficulty needs more helps. Since women workers' situation is getting worse, all the leading organizations should pay more attentions and efforts for them.
CHoi : We should consider how to organize the public. We should seek for organizing various groups of women workers such as temporary workers, female union members, those who work in cooperatives or as subcontractors part-time workers, etc.
Rhie : There has been increase in international economic structures like WTO, APEC, etc. We should get ready for it in solidarity with women workers in other countries. It is impossible for one country to cope with the international move.
KWWAU is planning to have exchange programmes with the woman workers in other countries who are working at Korean enterprises relocated abroad. We should make sure that "Code of Conduct" is WWAs' job. We also have to organize various campaigns for networking between workers and consumers like "Clean Clothes Campaign".
Un : It is impossible to solve the problem of irregular workers under the present system of company union. In the case of FKCU, they have worked for organizing a special committee in order to reorganize workers under the industry union system. We should search for the way to promote both groups of the organized and unorganized workers together.
Kim : The word of "Single status is short, but the period of married status is long" shows there are more diverse forms of employment for women. We should organize women under the name of "woman" in order to build up mass women's movement.
MC : I'd like to thank for your participation again. I hope to see all of you again with our more improved abilities and activities.