2009.12.31  No.16

 

<A press conference to call for job countermeasures for women from vulnerable classes driven out onto the verge of unemployment >

 
 


On December 10, 2009, A ‘press conference to oppose the decrease in budget for social service jobs and call for job countermeasures for women from vulnerable classes’ was hosted by the Korean Care workers NGO Network (composed of by KWWA, People's Solidarity Against Unemployment, Woman Resources Development Centers, Korean Association of Self Sufficiency Promotion, and YMCA Korea).

The Ministry of Labor handed in a budget bill for 2010 which shows large reduction in its supports to social public jobs to 148.7 billion won, by 21.1% compared to those for 2009. Owing to such a reduction plan, the existing social public job projects were mostly excluded and eliminated in the process of the examination and re-examination of social public job projects which have been undertaken since December. As a result, the actual 2 year projects to support social enterprises are left out or have to largely reduce their necessary personnel just around the point of 1 year fulfillment of these projects.  more>>

 
 

<Women’s jobs-and-childcare budgets for 2010 should be like this!!>

 
 


On the past November 27, We at Women’s Action for Decent Lives and Jobs (WADLJ) hosted a forum entitled ‘Women’s jobs-and-childcare budgets for 2010 should be like this’ in the Hall of Congressmen.

The National Assembly has currently carried out examination on budgets by sector. This forum was held in the Hall of Congressmen with the help from the office of Rep. Kim Sang-hee of the Democratic Party, in order to let National Assembly members to know our opinions directly.

In the greetings, Kim Sang-hee, a National Assembly member mentioned the forum was meaningful because it is held in a right time when political parties were arguing about budgeting, especially related to people.  She emphasized the need for uniting women’s circle and people to fight with the government’s anti-people and anti-women policies. more>>

 
 

<Women workers, meet social economy based on reciprocity and solidarity>

 
 


On the past November 18, we at the KWWA held a workshop entitled ‘Women workers, meet social economy based on reciprocity and solidarity’ in its underground training center.

 

Through her presentation, Lim Youn Ok introduced our social public job projects and social economic activities that we at the KWWA have practiced to tackle women’s unemployment and poverty issues increasing under the strong wind of neo-liberalism for 10 years from the Korean economic crisis in 1989 up to the current economic crisis. Our social economic activities include social enterprises, community coin movement, and credit union activities. The social economy is generally defined as ‘social economic activities carried out not by companies or nations but by the 3rd sector such as nongovernmental organizations or foundations to realize the social purpose for benefiting communities’. more>>

 
 

                      <Debate forum with Dr. Christine Bergmann,
                                former Minister of Women,  Germany
>

 
 


On the past November 18, the KWWA invited Dr. Christine Bergmann, former Minister of Women of Germany and held a debate forum with her on the theme of Neo-liberalism and women’s policies, focusing on measures on women irregular workers between Korea and Germany. The forum was begun with the keynote presentation by Dr. Christine Bergmann who visited Korea to share German experiences and to grasp situations of Korean women workers. She started her address saying “I am surprised that many young women join this meeting together.” Dr. Bergmann from the former East Germany was a former Minister of Family, Elderly, Women and Youth when a progressive government under Prime Minister Schroeder came into power in Germany, and currently has been working as a director of The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

Dr. Bergmann said “ Germany and  Korea did not reach the state of ‘paradise’ in relation to women’s work.” She described as ‘paradise,’ an ideal state in which women and men both can work and live happily. It is women who make up most irregular workers in Korea and take ‘insecure jobs’ in  Germany. both. In the case of Germany, women had a hard time due to their low wages and long working hours like us in  Korea. In the former  East Germany. women’s employment rate reached up to 90% before the unification, which shows women’s active role as major income earners.

 

After the unification with  West Germany in which males are considered as major bread winners, there has been no change in the male employment rate, but there have been a lot of differences in women’s cases: That was due to the job distribution between women not the job distribution between men and women. more>>

 
 

<A press conference by women’s society to support the struggles of the two umbrella trade unions: oppose a ban on paying full-time unionists and unified negotiation window of multiple unions!>

 
 


Date and venue: at 10:30amon November 12, 2009, in front of the tent strike placed in front of the National Assembly.

The government and the ruling party announced the immediate enforcement of the Trade Union Act and the Labor Relation Mediation Act which prohibit full time unionists from being paid and the unified negotiation window in case of the introduction of multiple workshop-based trade union system.

 

In last April, the ILO recommended to solve the issues related to wages of fulltime unionists through the autonomous and voluntary agreement between workers and users. Nevertheless, the government spread the distorted truth that ‘there is no country where companies pay full time unionists’ in order to ‘terminate the Korean labor movement.’more>>

 

Posted by KWWA
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