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Mar. 29  2024
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VRP is a ineffective policy, To Abolish TS, Legalize UMWs!

The government's inadequate policy makes migrant workers to cry out again. The Ministry of Justice(MOJ) announced the Voluntary Reporting Program(VRP) which give undocumented aliens one year preparatory period for departure until March 31, 2003 for who voluntary report their 'illegal status' from March 15 to May 25 this year.

Source  :  Asian Workers News No. 130 (May 19, 2002)

The government's inadequate policy makes migrant workers to cry out again.
The Ministry of Justice(MOJ) announced the Voluntary Reporting Program(VRP) which give undocumented aliens one year preparatory period for departure until March 31, 2003 for who voluntary report their 'illegal status' from March 15 to May 25 this year.
However, the MOJ require air ticket printed departure date within March 31, 2003 and brokers are widely prevalent making bad use of this program.
Brokers lend air ticket on condition of paying 30¡­50% air ticket fee plotting together with airline companies. And there is also impostor of forgery of passport watching for the undocumented workers who can't register voluntary because their trainee company do not give their passports back. Besides, there are another cases that some stores near immigration offices prepared copy machines and receive 500¡­1000 won per a peace of paper, and they require 30,000¡­50,000 won paying for writing out the voluntary reporting form.
Regardless the government's VRP have problems, many undocumented workers are going to the immigration offices for registering because MOJ do not need 'employer's departure guarantee' anymore and the registered person can stay here without 'illegal status' even short term.
According to the MOJ and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy,
undocumented aliens have voluntary reported total of 153,192(58.7% of total undocumented aliens) as of May 11.
However, it doesn't mean the government's action has been successful even though a lot of undocumented aliens have registered. There are so many cases that voluntary reporting people refund their air tickets as soon as they register in the immigration offices. That's why some airlines decided not to refund air ticket or others impose high charge in case of refunding.
Most of the voluntary reported workers say the reason of register "Because I can stay in Korea for a year legally.", "If I refuse register, the immigration officials will crackdown and deport me obviously." or "Although we'll become illegals after a year, we can't leave Korea due to large amount of entering money and enough money for their families."
After all, high percentage of voluntary reporting doesn't depend on belief and agreement toward Korean government's policy, but undocumented people have only a choice "forced reporting" by reason of deportation fear.
The Migrants' support organizations take a action actively against government's policy. March 26, over 2000 Chosunjoks held the rally against 'Policy preventation illegal stay' announced by MOJ and rushed hunger strikes by some 500 Chosunjoks.
Some 1,000 members of ETU-MB and Human Rights Solidarity for Women and Migration(HRSWM) also spreaded out on the streets, students and activists for rejection of the VRP and Legalization of undocumented workers on April 7. ETU-MB staged a sit-in protest for 'achieving working visa, and freedom of assembly and stoping crackdown' after cancel of second rally due to MOJ's blockade. Now, four migrant workers are keeping the sit-in protestant site despite of
deportation.
On the other hand, the Joint Committee for Migrant Workers in Korea is raising its voice to improve migrant worker's policy and their human rights. JCMK has campaigned actively. (http://www.jcmk.org)
On May 14, they began to rally against extension of the trainee system in front of KFSB's office which have committed corruption and human rights violation of migrant workers in the morning and transferred to Tapgol Park for signature-collecting campaign on May 14.
Owing to government's policy without enough attention, the 'Voluntary Reporting Program', Migrant workers and their support organizations take this opportunity to achieve migrant workers' labor rights and human rights more powerfully.
Even if most of undocumented workers cannot avoid reporting due to crackdown and deportation, migrant workers started to try to find a solution of a problem positively and discuss each other regard on migrant workers' policy and their labor rights after MOJ's announcement.
Hence, for searching of a better solution, around 800 migrant workers demanded 'Acquire Labor Rights, Legalize Undocumented workers' on April 7 on the street in Seoul. Migrant workers' and their support groups' struggles will be strong as far as Korean government keeps unjustice and unreasonable policy on migrant workers
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