Foreign workers targets for discrimination

This article is the eighth of a 10-part series dealing with multiculturalism in Korea. - Ed.



By Yoon Hee-sang



John (not his real name) came to Korea from Bangladesh six years ago. Today, he works at a small textile mill in Ssangmun-dong in northern Seoul. He works 14 hours a day, seven days a week.

"My workload is much larger compared with regular Korean workers," he told The Korea Herald. "The troubling thing is that I get paid far less than them as well."

John, however, hasn`t reported any labor violations to authorities. If he does, he may face deportation.

He says the only fun part of his stay in Korea is when he is learning the Korean language. He takes his lessons on Sunday afternoons at the Seoul Migrant Workers Center in Jongno.

John is one of about 180,000 illegal immigrant workers in Korea. Officials and activists say foreign workers` employment conditions have considerably improved thanks to the introduction of a new "guest worker" program - known as the Employment Permit System.

But like John`s case, discrimination still exists in the workplace, affecting many workers from poor Asian and African countries.

Since the early 1990s, Korea has attracted tens of thousands of foreign workers from developing nations for employment in the so-called "3D" (difficult, dirty and dangerous) jobs, which are often eschewed by native Koreans.

The Industrial Trainee System, the basic framework of the alien workforce policy that was introduced in 1993, however, caused many negative effects like abuse and exploitation.

Under the system, "unskilled" foreign workers could only legally enter Korea with "trainee" status. But many of them left their trainee positions after arriving in Korea, preferring to work "illegally" primarily because it allowed them to receive much higher wages despite risks of employer abuse.

The government introduced the Employment Permit System in 2004 to gradually replace the controversial Industrial Trainee System, under which many immigrant workers suffered from low wages and lack of health-insurance coverage.

Currently, the Employment Permit System runs in parallel with the controversial Industrial Trainee System. The government earlier said the trainee system will be abolished and unified by the work permit program from Jan. 1.

Government officials expect the measure to help control the number of illegal immigrants in Korea, which they said has become a serious social issue. As of December, the number of foreign workers in Korea amounted to 346,000, with 181,000 being illegal (52.3 percent), according to the Ministry of Justice.

The Labor Ministry said 116,000 foreign workers entered Korea between March 2005 and February this year. The Employment Permit System introduced 76,000 new workers, while the Industrial Trainee System brought in 40,000.

"The Employment Permit System has contributed to laying the legal groundwork for protecting foreign workers` human rights and eliminating illegal employment practices by providing them with the same legal protection and welfare benefits as Korean nationals," a government official said.

But the new alien workforce system that guarantees basic labor rights to foreign workers has problems.

"I saw some of my friends get hit and, sometimes, they were seriously injured," said an illegal immigrant from Indonesia who wished to remain anonymous. "The managers, though, don`t even pay attention. They didn`t even take the injured to the hospital."

Even if the immigrant workers report such situations to the heads of the company, action is usually not taken. In many cases, the managers just avoid talking to the laborers.

"Whenever I try to talk to the head manager, the secretary always stops me and says that she will leave him a message," said the immigrant from Indonesia. "I have yet to hear back from him."

The working conditions for industrial trainees, however, seem to be much better than for illegal immigrant workers.

Three legal workers from Nepal couldn`t be happier with their six-month experience in Korea. They said the working conditions at an Ansan industrial complex are "great."

In their free time, the three workers often visit Seoul Olympic Park on weekends. They also relax by visiting street galleries.

"Korea is a very beautiful country and the people are very friendly," said one of the workers. "I feel very lucky to be here."

But the new program only allows the laborers to remain in Korea for three consecutive years. This regulation makes it difficult for immigrant workers who are married to Korean women and have children to carve out a new life in Korea.

Many of the workers must commit to staying at one company for at least a year. After the year contract, the workers are allowed change their jobs legally.

"It may be legal, but it is almost impossible," said a counselor from the Seoul Migrant Workers Center. "It could take three or four months for an immigrant worker to find a new job. Thus, many of the laborers stay with the same company for all three years."

After the three years, the workers must return to their home countries. Some, however, do not leave, which makes them illegal immigrants.

When immigrant workers come to Korea, they have to pay brokerage fees, which range from 10 million to 15 million won. The laborers often need to save a year`s salary to pay the fees.

"It is extremely difficult for workers like us to just leave the country when we haven`t financially achieved anything here," said another immigrant worker who wished to remain anonymous.

"We have families to think about."

(heesang@heraldm.com)