Press Conference of Female Workers on Denouncement of the Government’s ‘Roadmap to a 70% Employment Rate’

Press Conference of Female Workers on Denouncement of the Government’s ‘Roadmap to a 70% Employment Rate’

 

We denounce the government’s roadmap to a 70% rate for not considering the quality of jobs and the equal labor right of women.

On June 4, the government unveiled “the Roadmap to a 70% Employment Rate” as a part of effort to usher in the era where everyone can work if they want. The details of the roadmap, however, show that the roadmap does not serve its purpose, but creates jobs with poor working conditions and weakens the labor right of women. Therefore, we, female workers, express our deep concern over the Park’s administration rolling out policies that do not reflect the reality while lacking understanding of the core issue of female workers.

According to the roadmap, extended working hours will be reduced and part-time jobs will be increased. Korea ranks second in average annual working hours in the OECD countries as of 2011. It is urgent to reduce working hours since workers have the right to have healthy working conditions and their rights are being violated with overtime and overwork. It is such a great idea to increase jobs and the employment rate by reducing working hours. The roadmap, however, does not include practical measures to decrease working hours, but focus solely on bringing the employment rate up to 70% by creating part-time jobs. It shows the government is not committed to reduction of working hours.

The government announced that ‘part-time jobs’ are key to the roadmap and will be promoted along. It reminds of a ‘purple job’ that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family suggested in 2010. The ‘purple job’ was proposed to help women balance work and family by introducing flexible work arrangement, which is part-time work. It came under criticism for putting female workers in low wages and precarious working conditions under the name of ‘flexible work program.’ Despite the criticism in the past, the Park’s administration brought up the policy again that should have been abolished, saying new part-time jobs will be ‘decent,’ different from the ‘purple job.’ On the contrary to its claim, new decent part-time jobs are highly likely to be poor jobs. The administration said that part-time jobs will be promoted in the public sector from 2014. The public sector is supposed to be an example in implementing the right labor policy. It, however, takes a lead in supporting flexible hiring by pushing an employment of ‘part-time public officers’ and ‘part-time teachers.’

We do not claim that the part-time job itself is bad. To make part-time jobs secure, part-time jobs should meet basic requirements. The minimum wage of the part-time job should be set taking the living wage into account and part-time should be allowed to change to full-time. Working conditions like promotion and welfare benefits of part-timers also should be equivalent to that of full-timers. It is doubtful that the part-time job will fulfill these requirements since the current working condition of the part-time job is very poor. We oppose the government’s plan that pays attention only to raising the employment rate to 70% by increasing part-time jobs with poor working conditions while ignoring the basic requirements to be a secure job.

According to the roadmap, the administration is committed to a 10% increase of the employment rate of women, which is currently 50%. The employment rate for women cannot show improvement unless the quality of jobs is considered first. The policies that the government proposed focus on solely achieving a 70% employment rate and neglect the reality of female workers. For example, an ‘automatic maternity leave’ force women to take parental leave automatically when they take maternity leave. It makes only women take responsibility of child-rearing and, consequently, makes women take poor jobs. It will eventually drive women away from the labor market. The ‘parental leave’ is available to both male and female to balance work and family. The Park’s administration, however, reinforces an outdated thinking that parental leave is only for women by introducing ‘automatic maternity leave.’ To increase the employment rate of women, the government needs to create a social and institutional environment where female workers can participate in economic activities without the fear of career discontinuance and devise a policy to attract more men to child care.

The issue of female workers cannot be solved with a linear approach. The employment rate of women will remain low unless the government unveils a comprehensive and practical measure. A roadmap with hollow promises is not an answer. Therefore, after understanding the reality of female workers in many aspects, the government has to come up with a policy to provide decent jobs that guarantee equal labor rights to women. We denounce the government’s roadmap to a 70% employment rate for paying attention to only a number, and we will not stand by and let the Park’s administration have its own way.

 

June 11, 2013

Lawmaker Hong Young-pyo, Lawmaker Nam Yoon In-soon, Lawmaker Shim Sang-jung, Lawmaker Eun Soo-mi, Lawmaker Jang ha-na, Lawmaker Han Jung-ae, Korean Women’s Trade Union, Korea Women's Associations United, Korean Women Workers Association, Korea Women Link, Women’s Resources Development Center Union, Korea Care Service Workers Association