The factory automation in Korea is well behind, especially much lower in the labor intensive industries where women workers are dominated.
However, the automation will be increased, and it's not always positive ways to the women workers. therefore, the government policy on automation should be changed in order to develop national economy and improve the women workers' rights.
On the basis of this, the survey project has been started from July, 1994, and is still going on process expanding to Asia Pacific region. The 'Working Women' opens a space for the reseach so far to spread concerns on automation
Research Objects
Questionnaire and interviews were implemented for the research.
Table 1)
objective industry (For questionare)
| P | F | G | E | T | Total | |
| No. of cases | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 29 |
P : pharmaceuticals F : Foods G : Garment E : Electronics T : Textile
Table 2)
Factory Scale (For questionare)
| P | F | G | E | T | Total | |
| Large (over 500 workers) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 15 |
| Medium-small (less 500 workers) |
2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
Also, this research covered a survey on women workers' individual case, which is 175 workers from five industries, 31 factories.
Table 3)
Individual survey
| P | F | G | E | T | Total | |
| No. of cases | 98 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 56 | 175 |
Result Analysis 1.
Based on factory survey
- Automation machines equipment and dealing with old machines
- Introduction of Automation machines and Sub-contract
Increase of subcontract is one of the serious problems related with women employment in Korea. In case of garments, large companies do just design and sale, hence the production is given to subcontracts. Textile and electronics are also giving the production to other countries which has lower wage level than Korea.(In 1993, materials-export, processed goods-import for processing deal trade had been increased to 114.7% from 97.4% in 1989.)
- Influence of Automation
i) Automation and Production increase 25 factories responded that the production was increased due to the automation introduction.
ii) Automation and employment change Since the automation, the total number of workers were decreased, 20 factories responded.
Table 4)
Factory Scale (For questionare)
Group reduction Resignation No recruit after resignation No answer p 1 2 F 1 2 1 G 1 1 E 1 1 5 T 3 5 1 Total 1 5 14 5 While the employment reduction is done naturally, there are many cases that the company reduced the number of workers by force. This is mainly to weaken the labor union by the company. For example. the pharmaceuticals pushed their workers (who were transferred to other factory to set up GMP-Good Manufacturing Practice-facilities) to pick up the grass in the garden. This is the way to suppress union members. The company employed temporary workers, as well.
iii) Automation and labor intensity
To the question of how the labor intensity was changed since automation, the response were like; 5 factories-much stronger. 15- stronger, 4-no changes. It means the labor intensity were stronger than before in all industries. Especially, the electronics has been much stronger than other industries.
Table 5)
Factory Scale (For questionare)
Much stronger stronger No change Weaker No answer p 1 2 F 3 1 G 1 1 E 4 1 1 T 8 2 1 3 Total 5 15 4 2 3 iv) Automation and Characteristics of Women's Work
Since the introduction of automation machine, men's work has been replaced by women (4 factories). Women, even though, replaced the men's work, however, the wage level didn't change, because of the deep-rooted sexual discrimination in the Korean society.
Yet, there is an another possibility of solving the division of male & female's role provoked by the sexual discrimination. In the case of one garments, in the past everybody believed that cutting cloth work is given to men with CAM which is connected with CAD.
But after the automation process, women could do the work, too. It was done by automation machine of the CAM and computer.
However, since 80% of garments factories are poor and has less than O.I billion won of total capita1. Therefore, it was not easy to introduce such an expensive machine. The cost of automation facilities like CAD, CAM is over two billion won.
v) Automation and work environment
The problems caused by automation machine to the workers are; stronger labor intensity- 16 factories mental stress - 10 factories isolation by lack of contact with coworkers-9 factories bored by simple working _8 factories
- Automation and Counter activities between Labor and Management
The company intention of automation is like;
production improvement -25
reduction of production costs _23
lack of labor- 16
balances quality -9
various kinds & low quantity _7
reduce the danger and difficulty of the Work-3
effective labor management_3Before the introduction of automation machines, only three companies had informed to the workers about it, but the others didn't. Even those three companies has just informed to labor union without any negotiation process.
Regarding the counter activity of the union to the company, the union answered; three have a plan, I5 have no plan. and 9 have no answer. The labor union can't approach to the company management, and also it shows that the awareness of the labor union on automation is very weak.
- Automation and Government Policy
As for the government policy on automation, the workers responded; wage-increase on account of labor intensity (14), job training for new technology (13), pre-negotiation about the automation introduction (3), no-division of male and female work (3).
In the case of foods industries, three factories among the four responded that they transferred the old machines to subcontract factories, which means high rates of sub-contracting in this industry.
In Electronics, the factories which responded that they transferred their plants to overseas were three among the five. It means high rates of overseas transformation.
Especially, the responded factories have exported over 70% of their products. Since they have depended on a low wage and export-oriented policy, they become a loser in the international competition. That's why they want to move their plants to overseas.
In textile, six factories transferred their old machines to overseas and set up automation machines in a newly-built factory.
Result Analysis 2.
Based on Individual Interview
Table 6)
Factory Scale (For questionare)
| Yes | No | No answer | |
| p | 9 | 87 | |
| F | 4 | 5 | |
| G | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| E | 2 | 9 | |
| T | 27 | 29 | |
| Total | 43 | 131 | 1 |
- The nature of automation work and the level of education and training
- Automation and work environment
Among the responded workers, a quarter of them responded that the industrial diseases have been increased since the automation. As particular changes are; increase of noise-75, stuff feeling by high temperature-64 and lack of air circulation-29.
- Automation and Health
Among the women who are working in the automation process feel their health problems except three women. The main problems are; neck and shoulder-83, finger and wrest-5 1, ankle and knee joint_46, stomach-35, constipation_28, bronchus-24, nervous breakdown- l6. back-14.
- Workers' awareness on the Automation
Most of women workers have a negative evaluation on the automation (304). Regarding the positive evaluations (82) are; easy working process_37, improvement of work environment_20, increase of working favor_1 9, decrease of division of male andfemale work-7.
Mostly. women's work by the automation doesn't need any specific skill (special skill required-43. no need- I31). Only 11 workers had experience of job training, and 112 workers didn't. It means most of women are doing just simple and repeated work.
- Remarkable changes of the government policy on industrial restructuring are required
- It is necessary to have a change in employment policy
- Solution of division of male and female work and expansion of job training are needed
- Institutional policy regarding the labor-management negotiation on the automation required.
- It should be intensified of supervising safety and health