KWWA and KWTU make women workers' policy tasks

 

Recently every political parties have announced measures for irregular workers' issues and job creation measures and countermeasures for stabilizing the livelihoods of the public, but the issues of women workers who are the most margalized group in the Korean society were not visualized.

Accordingly we at the KWWA and the KWTU aim to help every women to have economic power and get economically independent, demanding that the rights of working women should be upgraded to the average level of OECD countries. Based on the principles of women workers' issue joint development for creating the society of happy labor and welfare where 99% can be happy through the reinforcing of women workers' rights, we made the following 9 policy tasks and 6 enactment tasks in the 3 task areas. We also issued a policy task material, 'We, working women demand for the creation of a happy society!: women workers' policy tasks for 2012 general and presidential elections.'


Table 1. Realizing women workers' tasks through the 3.6.9 campaign

3 Task areas	6 Enactment Tasks	9 Policy Tasks
Job creation in the public sector (care services)	• Enactment of Care Service Act • Reform of Labor Standard Act (Recognizing in-home workers' rights to work)	○ The government should manage jobs and facilities and systems in the care service sector: tentatively named 'Care Service Act' should be enacted. ○ Care service jobs should be secured as sustainable jobs. ○ The Labor Standard Act should be reformed and ILO convention should be ratified to recognize in-house workers' rights to work.
Women irregular workers	• Establishment of ordinance for regularizing all irregular workers in the public sector • Reforming Fix-term Employment Act, Labor Standard Act and Trade Union Act (Restriction of the use of irregular workers and the expansion of terms of workers and employers)	○ The size of women irregular workers should be reduced to half (All of the irregular women workers in the public sector should be regularized and the use of irregular workers should be banned.) ○ Indirectly employed workers should be recognized as workers belonging to mother companies, and workers can be only directly employed in the public sector. ○ Specially employed workers' rights to work should be recognized.
Employment discrimination against women	• Reforming the Minimum Wage Act • Equal Employment Act and Women's Jobs and Family Balancement Support Act (Guaranteeing maternity leave for irregular workers during pre- and post-childbirth periods, and introduction of Paternity leave )	○ The minimum wage should be regulated at the 50% of average monthly wage. ○ Maternity leave and parental leave should be guaranteed when the contract is expired during the pregnancy and child-birth period for irregular workers. ○ Paternity leave should be introduced and the upper limit of paid maternity leave and parental leave should be increased.