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Looking back over the women's movement in the year 1992
As we look over the draft spread before us of plans for the new year we ponder on where to start and in what direction to go : to further the things we have gained for women in the past and spread them more broadly? to solve the left -over remaining tasks one by one?
In this first issue for the year of 'the working women' we are supporting the comparing for every woman to have the right to 1ifetime employment and equality in employment. We resolve in this Spring to raise the issue to bring it to the attention of the entire nation and move it forward as much as possible.
After the founding of the Korean Women Workers Association(KWWA) in Seou1 1987, a similar organization was founded subsequently in Inchon, Puchon, Pusan, sung Nam and Kwang Ju. In 1992 the women of the masan - Changwon areas formed the Ma -Chang Women Workers Association.
The biggest accomplishment of these organizations during the year of 1992 was to form themselves into a nationwide organization called the Korean Women Workers Associations United. On a nationwide scale it may be a comparatively small organization but it lays the groundwork for growth in the future.
The KWWA, together with women organized in hospitals, financial establishments, professional women and teachers, drew up a list of demands to submit to the struggle for lavour law amendment and for the presidential election. On November 8th when there was a worlcers mass rally for the struggle to reform the labor laws, our women joined in, distributed leaflets and entered the cultural programs in order to publicize the recommendations for labor law amendments related to women. The results were quite effective
But when we 100k at the total results of the work or 1992, we can see that there is stil1 much to be done for achieving ?e right to lifetime employment and equality in employment. In addition to this we have to stay with the previous work of securing maternity protections, security of employment and the expansion of Day Care Centers. These will have to be our combined goals for 1993
- STRUGGLE TO SKCURE MATERNITY BENRFITS
- In the past we believed that the content of the maternity protections such as pre and post partum vacation and leave time during the infancy period would have to be the first issues to be secured in order to achieve the rights or equal and lifetime employment. This struggle has now secured the contents of maternity protections in the Labor have been secured in collective bargaining agreements and been accepted in some companies.
But on the other hand during the previous year, employers have shown organized efforts to weaken the Labor Law and the collective bargaining agreements. So instead of being able to put their energies into expanding maternity protection coverage, the women have had to struggle to save what they already achieved. Nor could the women put much effort into this struggle because they are so threatened by insecurity of their jobs in the majority of small and medium sized companies.
Well then, let's take a 100k at the attempts of employers to weaken the laws related to women and what is the response of women workers? Last May at the Employers General Meeting they come out with a plan to drastically change the law regarding labor and to eliminate menstruation day leave.
The Women Workers Associations and the Korean Women's Associations United announced a plan to have a signature compaign to eliminate this plan or the employers and to start a movement for improving the labor laws relating to women in order to extend maternity benefits.
After many discussions with women workers in hospitals, white collar financial establishments, teachers and professional labor organizations and getting the assistance of labor experts, a draft of an improved law for maternity benefits was drawn up. This was joined to broadly reflect the women workers policies at the time of the presidential election.
Because of the fact that the numbers of married women are increasing in the work force every day, the threats to maternal protection are proportionately increasing. This makes the securing of maternal benefits that much more an important task. So we must strongly oppose the tactics of employers to weaken the system for maternal protection and must work much more energetically to amend the labor law in its provisions regarding women.
In order to accomplish this we must again gather together the strength of those in the movement and plan nationwide education and organization in order to make the demand for an amended law become the cry of all women workers. In this way. we can achieve the inclusion of maternal protections in the collective bargaining or every company where our women are employed.
With the increase in desire of women for lifetime employment, there has been a greater effort for securing maternity protections in women-dominated companies. We want to tell or a few companies where the women achieved exemplary results in including maternity benefits in collective bargaining.
At Korea Sure Products, they won 60 days of maternity vacation with pay, a leave period or one year during the infancy period and 7 days paid vacation time in the case of an abortion. At Seoul JooPa company the women secured 90 days of maternity vacation, going beyond even the prescription of the Labor Law.
In addition, in the case of particularly difficult labor, the worker can get an additional one month leave if she has a doctor's certificate (for which she will receive 50% of usual salary}. At Nam Song Electrical Equipment, 310 of the 360 women employees are trade union members and of theses 25% are married women. They secured 60 days of paid maternity vacation and one year of leave during the infancy period but they will be paid 50% of their usual salary for 60 days of that one year. In the case of abortion after more than 3 months of pregnancy, the worker will receive 30 days of paid vacation.
After securing these maternity benefits, the number of long term employed women in their middle 20's who continue to work after marriage has risen. With the exception of 15 middle aged women, 60 married women between 26 and 35 had been working at this company before they got married.
But according to the women officers of the Nam Song labor union. when the worker finished her maternity vacation and wanted to return to work. she often had to resign because there was no suitable care for her child. So that made them see the importance of some solution to help the women during the infancy period in order to guarantee her right to lifetime employment, This is also true of the importance of Day Care facilities.
Another example is Sam Joo Electric Appliances.
A 2 day paternity vacation for the father of the baby has been accepted by such companies as sam Joo Electric, Nam Song Electric, Seoul Joopa, Sang Mi Metals etc., showing a recognition of the mutual responsibility for healthy care of the child. This is a Key point for a future More advanced policy where the parents will equally divide the year of leave during infancy
- STRUGGLE FOR THE PROPER SOLUTION TO THE IN- FANCY PERIOD PROBLEM
With the sudden increase of women participating in the job market and an accompanying increase in the number of married women being employed, the social problem of providing care for infants and avoiding the demand and struggle or women for safe and near-by day care for their children became intense.
The first step in the work to obtain good Day Care Centers(DCC) was estab1ishing a committee for 'the struggle to pass legislation for a DCC Law' which was sponsored by the Community Day Care Center Association. The result of this was that a comprehensive Child.
Welfare Law was refused but a one-issue Infancy Care Law was passed in Dec. 1990. This contained a certain degree of the content that women had been asking for ' it gave a basic legal protection for DCC run by the communities and provided that the public-run DCC would beestablished with priority for low-income areas.
Following this the Community Day Care Centers Association and the Women Workers Associations concentrated their attention on the limitations of this legis1ation and on submitting drafts for satisfactory additions to this law. As a result of this. in Aug. of 1991 it was made obligatory that factories employing more than 500 women would have to provide a Day Care Center. Previously this applied only to companies with over 1,000 women.
Also it contained provisions that insured that DCC would be able to receive financial assistance from the national or the local governments. Under this provision in 1992 families of working parents earned less than 600,000 won a month could receive government supplements for their DCC fees. In Inchon. the local government budgeted one hundred million won for establishment of DCC (in 1993 it was raised to four hundred million).
While the Women Workers Associations gave enthusiastic support and solidarity to the activities of the Community Day Care Center Association, they also began a struggle for the government to give financial support and amend the laws to make the f0110wing changes:
1)that not only companies with over 50O women employees should be obligated to provide a company DCC but rather all companies with more than 150 employees of both men and women employees; and 2)in view of the increased number of both men and women teachers, the most ideal kind of educational atmosphere would be provided if each school were obliged to have an annexed DCC. At the same time, the women Workers Associations made it one of their key objectives to further develop the establishment of DCC wherever women are working.
Last April, there was a large scale Discussion Meeting held in cooperation with a trade union which has the objective or working for the establishment of company DCC's. In 1991 on two occasions a booklet was published on guidelines for the establishment of While Rearing '(your children)'. This book described the movement by working women in Japan for establishment of DCC and the same type of movement in Korea.
Last June. the trade union of the Orient Company(watch) was successful in establishing a company DCC for the benefit of working mothers. This was the first time this had been accomplished through the efforts of a trade union. It is called Eastern Children's House and can be counted as one of the proud accomplishments of the Women Workers Association effort.
Building on these successes the DCC movement has focused its effort on a campaign to change the law on DCC Another focus is to obtain national government and local government financing for the Day Care Centers. We are confident that by raising the determination of all women in regard to this matter, we will be very successful in the outcome of this struggle.
COMPANY DAY CARE CENTRE 'EASTERN CHILDREN'S HOUSE' achieved by the efforts of a trade union.
The Eastern Children's House of the Orent Company was opened on June l3th as a company day care center, which was the first successful case among manufacturing industries to achieve such a center through the collective bargaining agreement. This House is located in a near-by building of the company, which is rented. The House has three main rooms, living room, kitchen and toilet.
The aim is to accommodate children from Two-months to five-years old and it opens from 8 l.m. to 6 p.m. As for the House fee, it ranges : l00,000 won for one-year infant, 80,000 won for two-year old child and 50,000 won for a child over three years.
When the trade union was formed in l987, there were over l,000 workers, however, at the present stage, it has decreased to 3OO workers. Thus, the union leadership could not help exploring ways of how to strengthen the union and how to solve the childcare problems of married wonenof how to strengthen the union and how to solve the child membership has decreased because of child care problems, most of them are leaving the union.
Exactly at this momentum, the idea of having a company day care center occurred to the union leadership. After the 1ong term struggle of two years, finally the Orient trade union reached the agreement : the company would rent workers, Since the women memberships has decreased because of child care problems, most of them are leaving the union.
Exactly at this moment, the idea of having a company day care center occurred to the union leadership. After the long term struggle of two years, finally the Orient trade union reached the agreement :the company would rent the place for day care center, the interior furnishings would be provided by the company and the monthly managerial expense would be paid by the company (250,000 won) It was May, l99l.
However, since the House has been opened and settled. there were a lot of difficulties and much work to be done. First of all, among the union leadership : the chairman of the women's dept. and the general secretary organized a meeting to let the union membership know about the center, and distributed a questionnaire to find out the workers needs. In the process of exploring the managerial methods, the most difficult problem was the women's indifference to the House.
In the beginning, there were only four children. so it was not possible for the House to accommodate the children with such small funds from the company (2S0.000 won)
At present, the House has 10 children, although the current financial situation is just enough to pay for the two teachers, still it's very hard to survive. Therefore, there is a lot of work to be done by the House in order to solve the financial problems, and in order to open a relationship between the House, the mothers and the union.
"Our House is the first day care center the h"
"Our House is the first day care center the has been accomplished by the union initiative so that's why we have much concern and encouragement coming from the others. So. we feel a very big burden. As for the near-future plan, we will solidly establish so1idly the company day care center by planting a deep concern for the consciousness of the union membership, and will help the women to have the firm will to continue working under the security of life-time employment," said the union vice-president and chairman of the women's dept. Like this, their confident determination will light the future of the Eastern children's House
- THK STRUGGLK FOR HAVING EMPLOYMENT SECURITY
Under the situation of industrial restructuring, the shoes, textiles and electronics have been transferred or managerial rationalization has been explored. In the process, a number or workers have been dismissed. That is the reason that women workers are in an insecure employment stage.
During the last year of 1992, an average of 29 companies per day had been closed because of bankruptcy, hence this added to the insecure employment status or women workers. Owing to factory automation and managerial rationalization. 79.2% of non-agricultural industries have tried to reduce the number of workers or to replace then with part-timers or temporary workers.
At this moment, 23.2% of the total women workers have been faced with employment under temporary status. Like this, various causes put more intense pressure on the insecure employment of women workers. It threatens their basic living rights, and has a potential power to destroy the organized workers' base.
In spite of such a condition, the women workers have no guarantee to be protected under the law or by institutional measures. Therefore, this issue has been raised as the present most urgent task of women workers' problems.
So far. the Women Workers Associations has tried to explore the ways of publicizing the issue of employment insecurity through : support of the workers' struggle inside the company, research on the situation of women's employment, and open forums & public hearings on the causes and on alternative solutions.
The year 1992 has seen preparation of plans for legal & institutional solutions for employment problems also research regarding the recently appeared categories (temp. part-time, dispatched) of permanent workers in order to find a solution. The f0110wrng are the demands which the WWA prepared in cooperation with the clerical women workers' organizations.
- After three months' working as a temporary worker, it should be changed to an official working status through contracting.
- Part-timers should be employed as official employees, and be protected from discrimination.
- In case of dismissa1, the women should be protected from being priority targets of dismissal under sexual discrimination.
- Implementation of unemployment insurance, etc.
The main demands of these women workers have overflowed into becoming the main tasks in 1993. Especially, since the bankruptcy of medium small companies have increased to a serious stage, the employers have prevented the workers from touching the issue of employment. Thus, the problem of employment insecurity should be solved urgently. Therefore, in 1993, the legal and institutional, establishment and the workers' union level struggle must be centralized in the name of workers' solidarity and to form a solid struggle front.
The labor union members of 3 companies have shown a model case of struggle for employment security on the basis of solidarity.
Since the employment insecurity problems have become more critical each day, the workers' struggle against company bankruptcy, plant shut-down or closure and no-payment or wage has spread nation-wide, especially in Kuro Industrial Estate.
First, the Backsan Electronics Co. workers had been faced which an unexpected fabricated company bankruptcy, and all the workers were expelled from the company. In spite of such a serious situation, the women workers have carried on more thasituation, the women workers have carried on more than two years' struggle against the company. Second, the Daehan Optical co. workers have struggled against irresponsible company management and against reducing the number of workers.
At last, the workers came to Seoul shouting for immediate payment of wages and removal of the insecure employment status. And third, the Jungwon Electronics Co. women workers have struggled in very organized ways against the company management which suppressed the workers' union in order to destroy the workers' power. They organized even married women into a force which has a strong determination to continue the struggle.
These workers' struggles in the three companies have given great fuel to the workers' movement in 1993. Especially, the new these struggle has been spreading to each company as an important lesson for the workers to be aware of the strength of solidarity.
It was a classic case of a unions had a representatives' meeting, a special meeting for spreading propaganda, and defined Wednesday as a solidarity day in order to let the workers get together. They arranged cultural activities, discussions, campaigns, and an industrial estate parade. And, they had a big rally to commit themselves to the struggle for employment security and payment of unpaid wages.
The serious situation of employment insecurity can be anticipated especially in women dominated companies, so a very well-organized and nation-wide workers' solidarity should be formed on the basis of great lesson learned from the above three companies.
Korea Working Women's Network 1997 |