Welcome to BASE21

By Han Ei-no
Staff reporter

The migrant camp nationwide moves to resist the government and Millennium Democratic Party's action to legislate a twisted Employment Permission System (EPS).
Migrant support organizations such as the Joint Committee for Migrant Workers in Korea (JCMK) are collecting their power through solidarity with other labor and civic organizations, and local organizations in Seoul, Puchon, Ansan, and Pusan are on the campaigns toward citizens asserting to abolish industrial trainee system.

(JCMK organizes MW Joint Committee)
With Korea's outstanding national labor and civic organizations, the JCMK organized the 'Joint countermeasure committee to eradicate discrimination against migrant workers and for proving labor basic rights (MW Joint Committee)' to assert the government to enact a righteous migrant policy.
JCMK held the 'debate meeting for the righteous migrant workers' policy' at Seoul Anglican Cathedral on October 25. Mr. Park Sok-un, head of the Labor Human Rights said that he agreed that Korean government recognizes migrant workers as workers, but he indicated some points of EPS contents should be changed on the process of legislation.
1. When the law is implemented first, current undocumented migrant workers should be granted amnesty, and legal status should be endowed, 2. If a worker is not able to come to Korea again within 10 years after the contract expires, it is too harsh policy, and that policy will face international denouncements, 3. It's right that food and entertainment industries are excluded from job categories that foreigners can work, but a special measure for Chosunjok(Korean Chinese) women working in restaurants is needed, 4. The migrant importing and arranging organization should be run by the government in order to block rude managements by beneficial agencies or brokers, 5. It is possibly to violate the Constitution if, when a foreigner makes a contract, the one is not allowed to ask to extend the contract period, or can't ask to cancel the employer's decision to quit employment, 6. If a foreigner can't move to another company, it is actually a kind of compulsory labor, 7. The provision that a newly coming foreigner should deposit the departing bill will cause foreign workers to be burdened with too much debt. The employer should pay the traveling bill.

The sixteen organizations at the meeting including the People's Solidarity for Participatory and Democracy, National Association of Labor Movement Organization, Seoul Women's Trade Union, and the Lawyers' Association for a Democratic Society reached to an agreement to organize MW Joint Committee for struggling.
JCMK has suggested KCTU, Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, and Korean Democratic Professors' Association to join the MW Joint Committee, and received positive answers from those organizations.
MW Joint Committee had a press conference after a meeting of heads of member organizations on November 3. In addition, JCMK decided to join the struggle for improving migrant workers related systems from November 26 to December 18 with other migrant support organizations, which are members of the Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA). A national officers meeting for this campaign is held from November 10 to 11.

(Struggles by SNMRF and Kasamako)
Meanwhile, the 멣truggle Network for Migrant Workers' Complete Labor Rights & Freedom of Migration� Working (SNMRF)' sponsored a rally under the title of 'solidarity rally for abolishment of trainee system and obtaining migrant workers' labor right' at Myongdong Cathedral on October 29.
Likewise JCMK, SNMRF also demanded to abolish trainee system, and to correct problems of EPS bill. The different point of struggle by SNMRF from JCMK is focusing on building up solidarity between Korean and migrant workers. SNNRF frequently contact migrant workers' communities, and collectively active to advocate their insists every weekends at factory areas where migrants work mostly.

Kasamako, a united organization of six different Filipino organizations pointed out problems of EPS at its statement announced on October 19 as followings.
1. The EPS will only qualify the " new comer", not the currently undocumented workers in Korea, 2.the employment permit is limited to only one year and extendable based on the discretion of the employers, 3. The bill doesn't guarantee the freedom of employment, 4. The status of the currently employed as undocumented worker remain uncertain. After working for 3 years and eventually become skilled workers, there is no assurance that they can stay longer if they wanted to, 5.The provisions does not provide a need for a bilateral agreement between the host government and the sending government, 6. There is no education program for the migrants provided and supported by the government, such as Industrial Safety, Korean labor law etc, 7.There is no such provisions that guarantee the rights and welfare of women migrants against sexual violence.

Along with the summit talking meeting of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) during October 20 and 21, migrant support organizations vigorously at ASEM People's Forum in Seoul. JCMK opened a migrant forum at Konkuk University in Seoul on October 19 to explain situation of migrant workers in Korea. At the rallies resisting ASEM meeting at Sungshil University and Olympic Park on October 19 and 20, members of SNMRF advocated problems of EPS bill, and insisted to abolish trainee system. Some of JCMK members spoke problems of migrant workers in Korea at a forum held by the Asia Pacific Workers Solidarity Link (APWSL) at the Saint Francisco Educational Hall on October 21.

Activity By MSOs Nationwide
Migrant support organizations under JCMK are also struggling vividly.
The Puchon Migrant Workers' House (PMWH) held the 'Harmonization Assembly for Citizens and Foreigners' at the Central Park on Ooctober 29. At the place where migrant
workers from seven countries performed their folk dances and songs, PMWH distributed papers explaining contents of EPS in 10 languages. At the meeting with both some 5,000 Koreans and 5,000 foreigners, PMWH conducted a brief poll collecting whether the participants agree to EPS or not by attaching small stickers on the board, about 80 percent of them agreed to adopt EPS.

The Association for Foreign Workers� Human Rights in Pusan (FWR) has had 멌ampaign to Abolish Trainee System� at Pusan Station Plaza on every Thursday in October. FWR and other 20 labor and civic organizations in Pusan decided to struggle to abolish trainee system, so called modern slavery system.
FWR also received supporting signatures from citizens; some 1,000 passers by signed their names.

Three migrant centers in Ansan � Galilea Migrant Workers Pastoral Center, Ansan Migrant Shelter, and Ansan Migrant Workers Center have demonstrated the 멌ampaign to Abolish Trainee Employment System� at 1pm to 3 pm in Ansan on every Saturday. As a part of Pyolmangsong Cultural Festival, a local festival in Ansan City, the first stage of campaign was held before Ansan Station on October 28. On the day, speakers from the campaign camps spoke, 밄oth Koreans and foreigners are commonly Ansan citizens. Koreans only lived longer than foreigners. Let뭩 make a good friendship with them with warm heart.�
While migrant camp are focused to assert to abolish trainee system, or to enact righteous EPS, neither political camp nor news media have uttered of foreign workers� policy many times in October. The government and National Assembly were busy for parliamentary audit, and the media concerned on the situation of improving relationship between US and North Korea, and financial scandal connected with political camp.
From mid-November, the parliamentary audit is to be finished, and the bills will be examined in respect committees of National Assembly; EPS bill will be also dealt then.
So, it is expected that a hot duel over EPS by the business and migrant camp be peaked up in November.