South Korea: Contract Workers Fight Back

 

 

People in South Korea have been struggling with a problem. Six million workers, nearly a third of the total, can't get full-time employment. Instead they're stuck in contract jobs with little security, low wages, and tough working conditions. But as NHK WORLD's Kim Chan-ju reports, some are fighting back.

The movie "Cart" has been showing in South Korean theaters since last month. Female contract workers at a large supermarket chain are suddenly laid off. So they demand to be hired back. The film has become one of the top box-office earners. The story is based on an actual labor dispute that took place in 2007.

The protagonist, union leader Lee Kyung-ok, led the struggle which dragged on for 510 days.

"Contract workers themselves must speak out about the contract-worker problem. We need to let people know about the issue and fight for our rights."
Lee Kyung-ok

"Contract workers still suffer the same working conditions depicted in the movie. But they began demanding improvement."
Kim Chan-ju

This scene is not from a movie. The protestors in Seoul's main business district work for subcontractors at a major cable television company. The dispute began when the subcontractors laid off 109 of them this past summer.

"We're not asking for anything special. We just want to carry on doing the same job at the same workplace."
Lee Jung-min / Protester

Two protestors who climbed on to this electronic billboard on November 12th are still there. The two are calling for the laid off workers to be rehired.

"Our co-workers who have lost their jobs are struggling. They can't pay power their bill, their gas has been shut off, and they can't afford medical treatment for their sick children. We can't sit back and let them suffer like this."
Lim Jung-kyun / Protester

At the end of last month, the cable company offered to negotiate with the subcontractor and the laid off staff. The talks have been underway since Monday.

Contract employees are paid about half of what permanent staff receive. The law stipulates that contract staff must be offered full-time work after two years of employment. But in most cases they are fired before their two years are up, leaving them in a shaky situation.

Labor experts say it's important to close the gap between regular and irregular workers.

"A healthy labor market allows fluidity between full-time and temporary employment. In reality, we have a fixed, two-tiered employment structure in which contract workers are not taken on full-time."
Park Ji-soon / Professor, School of Law, Korea University

The government is expected to announce guidelines this month aimed at stabilizing the employment situation of contract workers. However, it's unclear how effective those guidelines will be.