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Often lured by promises of a better life, a living wage, as well as fair and equal treatment in the workplace, migrant workers from developing Asian countries are becoming more vocal about their plight.

By  Alva French

So, I bet you’ve heard about the great job opportunities in South Korea, right? How much easier it is to get a job here than back home and the solid benefits that abound, not to mention the ease of the South Korean way of life. While English teachers and other foreign professionals might be attracted to working around Korea to put their education and skills to work, migrant workers may not be so lucky.

Often lured by promises of a better life, a living wage, as well as fair and equal treatment in the workplace, migrant workers from developing Asian countries are becoming more vocal about their plight. As the economy improves, the need for migrant workers will definitely increase. However the discrepancy between the want ads recruiting them and the stark realities of their working environment are now becoming more visible as the government cracks down on illegal immigration.

A 2009 Amnesty International report, Disposable Labour: Rights of migrant workers in South Korea, painted a grim picture of the current situation. As of June 2006, 360,000 migrant workers or 1.5% of the total workforce are employed in the Republic of Korea. More than half are believed to be unregistered and face an uncertain future as the nation faces criticism internally and internationally to reform its once progressive laws for migrant workers.

Raising the Bar?

Prior to the Seoul Olympics in 1988, no laws existed to protect migrant workers in South Korea. At that time the government started the Alien Industrial Trainee System (AITS) to allow migrant workers to be hired through private recruiters and ostensibly become exploited due to the exorbitant fees required up front for employment. AITS theoretically gave workers vocational training after working a specific number of years, but this was often used as an excuse to withhold pay. Critics complained AITS was aimed more at “training”

workers rather than hiring and compensating them outright.

The Employment Permit System or EPS in 2004 was then implemented as a government-to-government scheme aimed at eliminating illegal recruitment and offering foreign workers equal pay, rights and benefits as South Koreans. Under EPS, workers are required to pass a language and qualification test before being invited to work in South Korea. The EPS system is in place between Korea and 16 other countries including the Philippines, Cambodia, East Timor, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Vietnam as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between these foreign countries and the Korea Ministry of Labor.

While the EPS may have attempted to raise the bar, the reality on the ground is quite different. “Migrant workers are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation largely because they cannot change jobs without their employer’s permission,” said Roseann Rife, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Deputy Programme Director. “Work conditions are sometimes so bad that they run away and consequently, lose their regular status and are then subject to arrest and deportation.”

Change in Status
Losing a contract mid-stream might seem like a minor obstacle to other foreign employees stuck in a labor dispute in Korea. Just ask around and find a new job, right? Go home for a few months and come back and find a new employer, maybe? For migrant workers, they not only lose their status making them now illegal workers, but they may have had their pay docked among various other infractions and may be too indebted to their employers to afford their return ticket.

Adding insult to injury, the South Korean government has avowed to cut the number of illegal workers by halving the estimated 220,000 of them by 2012. As a result, the Immigration department has launched what Amnesty International has called, “a massive and sometimes violent crackdown on migrant workers. Immigration officers and the police are accused of sometimes using excessive force against migrant workers and operating outside the law.”
Working in 3D
I spoke to Mr. Cho Yong-seok, director of the Gwangju Migrant Workers Center in Cheomdan and asked him to tell me about the plight of migrant workers here in Gwangju. While he tells me there are about 10,000 legal migrant workers in the city, there are also about 2,000 non-registered migrants on top of that. They often are recruited to do what is known as “3D” work – Dirty, Dangerous, and Difficult –

or work the native Koreans refuse to do in the manufacturing sector.

Today under EPS, the laws continue to evolve. Initially workers were required to return home after working three years, then work another two years. Now they can work for five years straight. “Which is both good and bad,” according to Mr. Cho. Good because their contracts guaranteed them work for an extended period of time, “but bad because if work conditions are difficult, these must be endured for five years without renegotiation or change of job.”
Also, while a meager living space or “container box” is provided, migrant workers must still provide $3-4000 up front to cover training, insurance, payment and airfare. Although this is significantly lower than the initial fees required under AITS, it is still a major hurdle for some. According to Mr. Cho, the government’

s attempts at changing the law to at least provide additional money for shelter have been unsuccessful.

While the possibility of working at equal status as South Koreans is very attractive to foreign workers, the reality quite different, Mr. Cho explains to me. “Their labor environment may be sub-standard, they may incur many injuries, and work in dangerous places.” Furthermore, he acknowledged many are afraid of coming forward for fear of losing their pay, their status or both, not to mention the hidden injuries left unreported due the language barrier.
Gwangju Migrant Workers’ Center
Mr. Cho, director and labor rights counselor explained the objectives of the Gwangju Migrant Workers’ Center. “It is basically a shelter and counseling center,”

he tells me. On average there are 3-5 males who stay at the shelter at any given time. Today, there are six people housed there. Mr. Cho went on to say that there are about 250 migrant workers advised a year. The center is not only a safe haven for those in need of housing while injured or in between jobs, but also a Korean cultural and historical education center, complete with computers and televisions. A sports day and cultural trips are often planned as well as Hangeul classes. Church services are even held every Sunday at the chapel downstairs from the center. While the Korean Labor Ministry introduced the center to some, most workers find their way there through word of mouth.
Voicing Complaints
While at the center, I also met Agit from Sri Lanka whose left index finger had been chopped off while working as a machine operator in a steel manufacturing plant in October 2008. Although Mr. Cho explains Agit received compensation from the Korean government for his injury, he has yet to receive anything from his former employer since the company shut down. His case is still pending.

The most common rights violated include non-payment of salary, uncompensated accidents and violence on the job. Mr. Cho explained the plight of a typical worker, a Sri Lankan who was unregistered when he started working in Korea from 2005-2007. He was only paid four times during that time and came to the Gwangju Migrant Workers’

Center in 2008 for assistance. As of today, his case remains unresolved.

Another unresolved case involved two workers in car disposal who complained their work environment was too violent and dangerous. After one week they asked to change jobs, but were refused, so the two employees quit. However, since they “abandoned”

their job for more than fourteen days, the employer had the right to sue the two workers and did so. Since they were already non-registered or illegal they were both in a precarious situation, especially since only an employer may withdraw a lawsuit. As of today, only one of the two was asked to continue working, while the other not.

One case which came across Mr. Cho’s desk that fortunately was resolved involved two Chinese seniors who went years without being paid. Both men came to the center for help. With the center’

s assistance the two men went to court and won their overdue compensation.

Mr. Cho says although some foreign workers typically lack professional skills, some come to Korea after working as computer engineers, pharmacists and civil servants. Forced to take jobs that in their home countries would be beneath them, they come seeking better wages. Often intimidated by the language and unaware of their rights, they languish in seemingly dead-end situations before seeking solace at the Center. Even trivial matters get swept under the table because workers can’

t communicate effectively with their employers. Finally, migrant worker complaints are often ignored by employers whose sole concern is productivity at all costs.

“Despite the advances of the EPS system, the cycle of abuse and mistreatment continues as thousands of migrant workers find themselves at the mercy of employers and the authorities who mistreat them knowing their victims have few legal rights and are unable to access justice or seek compensation for the abuse,” said Ms. Rife of Amnesty International.
Seeking Reform
You would think a labor union might be able to help, right? In theory, since migrant workers enjoy the same rights as Koreans, they may bring their complaints to labor unions, but, Mr. Cho tells me, “This process takes too long, often more than five years which exceeds the length of a typical migrant worker’s contract.”

Mr. Cho agrees there is a tremendous need for reform. Even with the well-intentioned EPS, workers are still locked into non-negotiable servitude for years. Most are forced to suck it up and stick it out, and have little recourse except to seek out help from small centers like his around Korea. Mr. Cho tells me the government is currently discussing the situation in response to increased frustration and complaints by migrants and others in the international community.

Furthermore, Mr. Cho acknowledges the need for multicultural understanding when it comes to working with migrant workers. “We need to respect differences and focus less on capitalistic concerns,” he says. Finally he states, “We need to raise awareness about the situation and make sure everyone understands the plight of migrant workers.”

By Alva French

Amnesty International calls on the government of South Korea:

* to ensure that employers respect, protect and promote the rights of migrant workers through rigorous labour inspections so that the workplace is safe, training is provided and migrant workers are paid fairly and on time;

* to protect and promote the rights of all female migrant workers and stamp out sexual harassment and sexual exploitation;

* to allow irregular migrant workers to remain in South Korea while accessing justice and seeking compensation for abuses by employees;

* to ensure that during immigration raids, immigration authorities adhere to South Korean law requiring them to identify themselves, present a warrant, caution and inform migrant workers of their rights, and provide those under their custody prompt medical treatment when needed or requested.

From: (http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/migrant-workers-treated-039disposable-labour039-south-korea-20091021)

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