On the 2^nd of March, celebrating 3.8 International Women’s Day, “Saeng Saeng Women’s Labor Act” ran a campaign for restoring domestic workers’ rights and a conference with a declaration of women’s labor rights. Each of the groups from Saeng Saeng set up booths, educating citizens about the difficult realities of domestic workers such as housekeepers, cleaning ladies, and restaurant laborers. There was also a petition demanding a bill for workers’ rights. Despite the cold weather, many members of each activist organization willingly participated in the campaign and the media conference.

<From the Declaration of Women’s Labor Rights by Saeng Saeng Women’s Labor Act >

             We at “Saeng Saeng Women’s Labor Act” declare that the rights of female workers are ensured by the guarantee of gaining quality employment, being able to both work and live, respecting domestic workers, and further, building foundations where everyone can lead a happy life through the application of social insurance, and guaranteeing of social wages. We swear that we will work hard to actualize these rights:

1.     The government guarantees the Basic Legal Rights of Labor for the underemployed and irregular employees.

2.     The government guarantees the application of the Basic Legal Rights of Labor, unemployment insurance, and industrial accident compensation insurance for domestic workers.

3.     The government guarantees a minimum wage of 1 million won a month.

4.     The government makes an effort for social insurance expansion and social wages insurance without exception.

5.     The government should ensure job stability for domestic work.

6.     The government should set wages for full-time employment instead of part-time work with lower pay.

7.     The government should prohibit unfair dismissals for reasons concerning pregnancy or childcare and consolidate the related policies for both parents to have the right to maternity leave.

The「2010 Equaline Counseling Casebook」 contains an analysis of consultations given by 9 branches of Equaline, a division of KWWA.

2,995 consultations in 2010

        In total, there were 2,995 consultations (with both men and women) undertaken by Equaline last year, not including reconsultations. It reveals a 17% increase from the 2,483 cases in 2009. This analysis covers women's cases only, excluding 125 men's cases, in order to have a better grasp on women workers' present situation.

The Rapid Increase of Maternity Protection Consultations

The distribution of the consultations show that the rate of maternity protection consultations, which was 656 cases in 2009 (a quarter of overall cases), jumped 31.4% to 957 consultations in 2010 (a third of overall cases). Meanwhile, working condition consultations slightly decreased by 2.1%, from 1,377 cases (55.5%) in 2009 to 1,348 cases (47.1%) in 2010. As for the other types of consultations, childcare leave cases constituted 16.1% (460 cases) of the total number of consultations, closely followed by the rate of overdue wage cases, 15.4% (441 cases) in 2009. Sexual harassment at work and maternity leaves account for 10% each.

The increase of maternity protection consultations with female workers can be explained in two ways. One is that the financial crisis in 2008 still has a negative effect on the employment of female workers who struggle with working and pregnancy or infant care. There is a considerable amount of examples where women are urged to resign because of financial difficulties, and they are given no maternity leave or unemployment benefits. The other reason could be that the women workers have decided to stand on their own feet to take back the rights that they deserve. There is a growing number of women laborers making inquiries about the subsidy for hiring a substitute employee to replace the employee on childcare leave, which means they are willing to let enterprises know how the companies can benefit from guaranteeing their rights. This reveals how determined the women workers are in order to keep their position in the company. Female workers began to become aware of the right to have and protect maternity leave; in the meantime, enterprises have been half-hearted about maternity rights, though that is only toward permanent positions.

Maternity Protection for Non-regular Workers Still Unascertained

        Those who inquired mostly over maternity protection turned out to be regular clerical workers that have worked for at least a year at a company with more than 50 employees. In other words, employees can demand maternity protection because they have comparably stable jobs.

Overdue Wage Problems at Businesses with Less than 30 Employees and Employees Older than 30

        Working condition consultations amounted to 1,377 cases in 2009, showing a decrease of 2.1% compared to 2007. The decrease is possibly influenced by the fact that there are manifold routes to seek advice about problems and that the Minister of Labor had started to clamp down on consultations. The overdue wage issues had the highest rate of all the consultation topics with 32.7%, and occupational hazard and the 4 types of insurance followed the second highest with 20.4%.

A Sharp Increase of Part-time Female Workers' Consultations

        Noticeably, in 2010, we held consultations with more clients with part-time jobs than ever. The clients working part-time formed 16% of the total with 149 cases, which is more than twice as many as the previous year, which only had 73 cases, or a tenth of the total. Based on the “Actual Economically Active Population,” the number of part-time female workers had grown from 15.2 % of the total in 2009 to 16.4% in 2010,.

        High Rate of Resignation among Non-regular Female Workers who have been Sexually Harassed

        The percentage of consultations with victims of sexual harassment are 38% after leaving the company and 62% while still employed. Also, there is a distinct and proven correlation between the rate of resignation and the size of the company, the length of service, and the type of employment. The smaller the size of the company and the length of service, the higher the rate of resignation. The rate of resignation rose up to 50% for temporary employees. For day laborers, it was 100%. Those facts support the claim that there should be strict discipline for the wrongdoers, sexual harassment awareness programs, a plan to help the victims, etc.

(tag : sexual harassment at work, non-regular position, maternity protection, maternity leaves, overdue wages, consultation)

In 2009, we at the KWWA filed an administrative lawsuit against the Ministry of Public Administration and Security for denying its stopping funds to the NGOs having joined candlelight protests. In January 2010, KWWA failed at the first trial, but we won the case at the high court in past July and supreme court in November. As a part of resisting the repressive government's attempt to suppress NGOs, our case is expected to impact other similar cases.

On past November 30, we at the KWWA organized a forum entitled 'Korean Women in their 20s Cried out for Survival, '"Let me in!"' In the forum, a survey result on female youth's work and lives was presented. The research was conducted between past August and October, Kim-Shin Hye-jung, head of the Education Dept., and a women researcher, Yeo Myunghee summarized quantitative research outcomes and qualitative results, respectively. Panels consisting of Jo Keumdeuk, secretary-general, Youth Union, Park Hongju, a womanist researcher, Kim Soohyun, researcher of Saesayon , Lim Youngmi, head of Dept. of Women Workforce Development Under the Ministry of Women and Family, shared a great time to exchange their views on the survey results and discuss future tasks.

Those who are addressed as housekeepers, domestic helpers, or aunties, came out on the street.

“Please address me as a house manager not a housekeeper.”

“Auntie No, House Manager OK”

“A house manager is a professional woman.”

With pickets prepared carefully, they stood imposingly in front of people, even though they felt a bit shy.

They are housekeeping service workers taking care of housework and caring what is considered as unpaid house work. As a vacuum in housekeeping and caring at home has been made because of increasing economic activities of women, our rapid aging society, and change in family patterns, they fill up the vacuum. There are 160,000 housekeeping service workers as of 2007 according to the Economically Active Population Survey of the National Statistical Office. However, their actual number is probably much higher than 160,000 if we consider the number of housekeeping and caring service workers in the informal sector which does not show up in statistics.

Even though there are a fair number of housekeeping and caring service workers, they are still considered as insignificant domestic helpers doing housework in the society rather than professional workers. Such a social cognition is often reflected in dramas that they are addressed as housekeepers, domestic helpers, aunties, etc. or treated disrespectfully.

Therefore, the National Cooperative of House Managers (NCHM) which is an organization of housekeeping service workers directly concerned, has been conducting simultaneous campaigns across the country for improving the social cognition of housekeeping service workers from June 5 to July 7.

“We work hard with pride as we support economically active women or families who need housekeeping service and take care of clients’ well-being. However, a low social cognition (housekeeper, domestic helper, insignificant work, embarrassing work, etc.) of our service makes us feel uncomfortable and conceal our occupation. Nonetheless, housekeeping and caring service is already an essential profession in this society because of increasing economic activities of women, the problem of childcare and the aged, and so on. Folks, we are not mere housekeepers or aunties. We are professional house managers. We want to work proudly in the social environment respecting our occupation.” – Excerpt from the campaign of the NCHM Masan-Changwon Branch

Housekeeping workers across the country speak out loudly with one voice and say, “We are professional workers. We have completed the professional training and provide systematic housekeeping and care services. Please address us as house managers not aunties.”

Introduction of the NCHM

 The KWWA established the NCHM as a community of professional house managers for expanding women’s jobs. In the situation that most middle-aged women had difficulty in finding jobs due to polarization in the labor market and they were employed in the informal sector such as housekeeping services, the KWWA judged the necessity to develop services of middle-aged women professionally for their financial independence, and then organized the NCHM as a nationwide organization in November 2004. Currently, the NCHM has about 700 members with 11 branches in Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Bucheon, Ansan, Daegu, Gwangju, Jeonju, Masan-Changwon, and Suwon.

‘We, care workers are also workers. Apply the Labor Standard Law to us!'

‘Ensure employment insurance and workers' compensation for care workers!'

On past October 30, approximately 300 care workers held a Care Women Workers' Rally in the central Seoul to raise their voices, demanding to 'Apply the Labor Standard Law to care workers' and 'Guarantee Employment Insurance and Workers' Compensation.' The rally was held on the theme of 'To create care labor environment in which the government takes responsibility and the society respects,' by the KWWA and National Cooperative of House Managers (NCHM), and sponsored by Korean Care workers NGO Network.

In the rally, Kim Sanghee, a congress person of Democratic Party had an address, promising that she would work hard to help the Care Workers Act be passed in the National Assembly, and members of NCHM handed in their postcards to her, to send them to parliamentary committee members on environment and labor issues.

In the rally, a member from Incheon confessed her difficulties: 'although she had an operation on her knee, she had to return to work before the stitches were taken out because the operation cost was too high to her.' She called for the immediate application of employment insurance and workers' compensation.

Each regional branch of KWWA prepared an performance such as traditional beggar's song, dances and songs so that our members were overwhelmed with mirth. In addition, Ryoo Keumshin, a popular singer sang for our members in the rally. Moreover, 'E-oollung' a Korean traditional musical instrument band belonging to Inha University branch of the KWTU had a traditional parade, Kilnori and initiated traditional collective games, Daedongnori.

The amendment of Care Workers Act was prepared jointly by the office of Rep. Kim Sanghee and Korean Care workers NGO Network, and brought in the National Assembly on September 1, 2011.

'The 2nd Low-birth and Aging Society Basic Scheme' that the government announced in past September, was confirmed in a Cabinet meeting on October 26. On that day, we at the KWWA, opposition parties, women, labor and/ or civil NGOs pointed out the government's impractical reality-blind countermeasures to low-birth rates.

The government's representative countermeasures to Korean low-birth rates for promoting balances between family matters and jobs are to ensure parental leaves at a fixed rate of 40% and paid 3 day partner leaves, to spread flexible working hour systems, and to introduce self-regulating childcare centers. However, these policies are just nominal and blind to most women's situations. These policies do not reflect irregular women workers accounting for 70% out of all working women, and what is worse is that the policies try to form incompatibility amongst working women and worsen discrimination against irregular women workers. Further, for sure, we believe the introduction of self-regulating childcare centers will double childcaring burden on parents and accelerate socio-economic polarization because childcare services are in cruel hand of the market.

We believe the government should make policies preventing women from being dismissed because of their pregnancies and child birth, and those encouraging men to participating in childcare. According to a recent survey, 71% of Korean women stop working after their child births, and working moms view personnel disadvantages against them due to their pregnancies and child birth as the hardest things.

In conclusion, enterprise environment and social environments in our society are not adequate and sufficient enough to help people to balance their jobs and family matters. In other words, the discriminatory and inhumane corporate practices should be improved to ensure all working women can take maternity leaves without fear, and the government should take practical and feasible policies for working women.

Moreover, the present parental leave system should be largely enhanced. The present system has so many limitations that the rate of income substitution is very low and male workers have a low partner leave of 1.4%. Wages should be guaranteed at higher levels than the minimum wage, in order that an increasing number of workers can take parental leaves, and drastic steps are needed for a higher number of male workers to take partner leaves. For this, ▲ policies to encourage women's employment during the periods of their pregnancies and child birth ▲ steps to ensure employment, not the expansion of the flexible labor, are needed, and further, ▲ the scheme of 'self-regulating childcare centers' should be withheld because it burdens parents, and national and public childcare facilities should be increased.

Past September 13, we at the KWWA held a 'Workshop for seeking for alternatives to low births and for balancing family matters and women's jobs through examining women's broken careers.' It aimed to have better understanding of Korean women's broken careers and make practical and feasible policy suggestions for Korean women.

In order to grasp the situations and states of women's broken careers, we at the KWWA conducted a survey targeting 1,181 women who have children aged less than 10 years old. We found those who have experienced job changes accounted for 80% out of the total respondents: specifically, 71% who answered they had to stop working due to child birth, and 8.9% who had to change their jobs. It shows child birth is the major cause of women's broken careers. Especially, regular women workers form 62.9% before their child deliveries, but only 28.5% of women who have babies can work as regular workers when they are re-employed after their child birth, which means Korean women's broken careers and irregularization mainly resulted from child delivery. In addition, it was found that only 10% of irregular workers took maternity leaves, which demonstrates irregular workers have more serious broken careers than regular women workers do. That is to say, we found that irregular workers' pregnancy and baby birth have crucial influences on Korean women's broken careers and re-employment types.

In the workshop, presented was in-depth interview results regarding restrictions on balancing family matters and jobs, targeting men and women in their 30s. In reality, uncertainty has been increasing and it was found so difficult for those women who are university graduates wanting to be re-employed to re-enter the labor market, and further, women's jobs are mostly irregularized and casualized due to the distorted market structure in which young women are preferred and women have to retire from their jobs because of their pregnancies. The stereotype on gender division of work and long working hours force men to give up their participation in caring children, which is very stressful and burdensome to Korean women, since women have to take care of house work, childcare and their jobs, as well. Male interviewees in their 30s and 40s taking part in the in-depth interviews attributed their difficulties in balancing the two matters to Korean Confucianism-based work culture including heavy workloads, long working hours, strict job hierarchy, widely spread job insecurity amongst workers, and only success-oriented culture. They emphasized that people's minds should be changed to encourage men to care for their jobs and children, both, and Korean job culture should also be improved in order to ensure proper and punctual working hours and help men enjoy time with their family, through the introduction of various support systems.

Between August 19 and 20, 2010, we, 100 KWWA and KWTU activists had a joint membership training, entitled '2010 Joyful Meeting and Exhilarating Communication' in the North Choongchoeng Province. KWWA and KWTU, sister organizations had had a joint membership training every year until 2008 when the training was changed every two year.

Above all, Kim Ki-sik, chairperson of the Policy Planning Committee, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy gave a lecture on the theme of 'Korean Politics Today, New Political Visions.' Through the lecture, we at the KWWA and the KWTU had a good time to look back our busy and breathtaking local election activities and think over post-the election Korean politics.

Next, we also had a chance to look at social network programs in order to find ways to have more friendly and better communication with the public. It was really great time for our activists living in the web2.0 era to become far more concerned for how to wage our campaigns and activities and communicate with people, and to change the ways we think.

After dinner, we arranged our time to listen up our 5 senior and junior activists: 'Best Choices and Worst Choices as Activists.' In the talk with the activists, we were happy and empathic enough to share their agonies and troubles. On the last day, we had a variety of programs such as 'hiking,' 'making organic cosmetics,' 'learning to dance like singers on TV,' 'Yoga meditation,' and 'picture taking lessons' so as to get relaxed from our daily lives.

Between July 17 and 18, an integrated membership training for our executives was held in Anmyon-do island.

On the title of "Requirement of Executives: Joyful Participation and Thrilling Changes!" about 180 staff persons from 11 branches and KWWA’s annexed organizations took part in the membership training, whose number of participants was growing more this time than that in last year. This was a major venue for becoming re-born as strong and competent women and executives, as well as for looking back the local election campaign processes and looking at practical future tasks.

After Jeong Moon Ja,  representative of the KWWA delivered a lecture on the theme of 'the Local Election and Post-political Situation,' members from Pucheon and Pusan had presentations about their activities during the local election. We at the KWWA and its regional branches also listened to the second lecture entitled 'Firm Life As a Woman' addressed by Choi Kwanggi, an explosively popular MC in Korea. There were so enthusiastic responses to her lecture that we couldn't stop smiling and laughing, but it also made us think over. After dinner, a program entitled 'Express with Your Body' was undertaken: our participants from each region had to choose one topic out of the two, 'Local Election Activities' and 'Live Firmly As a Woman', and then express it with their bodies through singing, dancing and carrying out performances. One is as good as the other, but AWWA received the first prize, M-CWWA was in the second place, and IWWA came third. In addition, on the photo shot display for proving our voting activity in the local election, GWWA was in the first place.

On the next day we had a field day at the beach.  Since waves were high and the beach has relatively scarce sand field, it was difficult to do physical activities at first, but in the afternoon we were able to play games such as 'carrying water,' 'relays,' and 'knee-wrestling matches' because water flew away with time. After the passionate field day, their glory was returned to M-CWWA, KJWWA and North Cholla WWA came second, and AWWA and GWWA gained the bronze medals. We had a so relaxing time to play different games such riding surfs.