401개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
Malaysia:
Massive Exploitation and Oppression of Migrant Workers, Combined with Manhunt and Mass Deportation
Last week Amnesty International(AI) accused Malaysia(MAL) over migrant workers abuse, but the Malaysian gov't - surprise, surprise(!!) - is ignoring AI's demand to reform its migrant worker law...
Today the Nepali Nagarik Daily reported that the Malaysian "authorities" have arrested, partly by using massive violence, over 500 Nepali un-documented migrant workers (among hundreds migrants from other South Asian countries) in the recent days.
The "authorities" started an operation named 'Sweep Operation' from February 24 to curb the "illegal" migrant workers.
Malaysian detention center: captured migrant workers
It is estimated that there are about one million un-documented migrant workers (according to al-Jazeera) with about 50,000 from Nepal alone.
Migrant workers in Malaysia - mainly employed in construction sites, factories, restaurants and palm oil plantations - are subject of massive exploitation and oppression...
According to AI large numbers of migrants find when they arrive that they are given lower-than-promised wages and forced to work in unsafe conditions.
It said arbitrary arrests and extortion were other common complaints.
While many Malaysian firms depend on a large supply of migrant labour, "Migrant workers come to Malaysia to escape poverty and to provide for their families. Once they arrive, however, many workers toil in conditions that amount to labour exploitation," AI said in its latest report.
Sounds somehow familiar, doesn't it? It's almost comparable with the situation of migrant workers in S. Korea (and many other countries)...
For more please check out:
☞ Malaysia must end abuse of migrant workers (AI, 3.24)
MTU published y'day the following survey:
Migrant Workers in S. Korea - History and Reality
Migrant Workers Background
The MOU between Korea and the EPS sending countries have varied qualification requirements for each country. In some countries being a highschool level or graduate is enough to apply as workers in Korea. But for some countries they require workers to have at least some college level education or trade/vocational graduates.
However, due to the high costs of migration and the high education level of most job seekers, a large majority of the migrant workers who came to Korea have had a higher degree of education (sometimes professionals), or had long term employment in manufacturing industries, were also migrant workers from other countries or belonged to the lower middle class families. The very poor cannot access financial sources to process their application requirements because they have no collateral for loans, families cannot give financial support or they are credit risks (no regular or long term employment).
Some migrants came here on tourist visas or family invitations. Now, most are hired through the Employment Permit System or EPS, entertainers visa, some professionals get working visas. Some people also come here on student visas.
Since most of the workers are industry based, most of the workers are male and around one third female.
Majority believe that they will only stay here temporarily.
Majority support immediate and extended families. (Wife, children, parents, siblings and other relatives).
Migrants are immediately given a higher social standing in the community and therefore are given a higher social responsibility. Therefore, in emergency situations they are usually looked upon in the community as a source of help or assistance.
The age bracket for migrants are 20-45 years old. Many have families of their own.
Most migrants are aware of the difficulties of working in Korea through the pre-departure training/education requirements.
Majority of the migrant workers directly and indirectly suffer from labor violations but a high majority of the workers fail to realize or know that there rights are being violated. Even if they knew that their rights are being violated most migrant workers are not aware what they should do.
Language is the primary barrier for migrants in seeking redress and correction for their violated rights.
Even if migrants knew what to do or they completely knew the process in taking corrective actions or measures the law is designed to protect the workplace and employers than protection of the workers.
There is no job security for migrant workers, very limited opportunity to change workplaces even under unfavorable or abusive conditions.
Most have to endure slave-like conditons: unpaid wage, underpayment, salary cuts, huge pay deductions, forced labor, verbal abuse, long working hours, not enough rest time, not enough rest days, no sick leave or vacation leave, illegal termination, no benefits, contract violations, industrial accidents, health issues, physical abuse, deplorable working and living conditions and all sorts of discrimination, limited access to health care and sometimes even prevention of their access to medical checks and treatment, women are highly susceptible to sexual violence and harassment, and all forms of discrimination. The undocumented workers suffer from all these and much more. The crackdown, criminalization, inability to seek redress against crimes committed against their person, limited mobility, stress due to uncertainty (their job, stay and status), could not easily go home because of the inability to return, loved ones dying and being uncapable of seeing their loved ones one last time, loved ones getting sick, and so much more.
Most migrants intention is to work abroad only for a few years in order to save up enough money to use as capital for businesses back home. Others, to support the education of their children or siblings. Others to provide support for the medical treatments of loved ones. A few handful of people come to seek independence financial and/or social independence. And some intend to save up enough money in order for them to be able to immigrate to another country.
Lack of knowledge either in labor law or language are the usual reasons why the migrants are abused. Migrants are threatened with termination or repatriation to the home country if we do not follow or endure the working conditions in a company. The limitations in the law also gives way to abuse.
Results of migration on the life of the migrant workers:
Migrant workers would come to Korea in the hope of securing a better future for themselves and their families. Being economically and financially disadvantaged, workers would risk their health and quality of life to sacrifice not only for the family but for our countries as well. Our earnings help to keep our nations economies afloat.
Injuries and illnesses vary depending on the nature of work. Repetitive stress injuries, respiratory diseases, accidents like amputations, sleep deprivation, organ failures and ailments, blood poisoning, heavy metal poisoning, nerve damage, psychological stress, and many other ailments and illness.
De-humanization of the migrants. Most migrants are treated like machines or animals in the workplace. We are always expected to work harder longer and faster than the native workers. Our accomodations are either too cramped, dirty, not suitable for living, expensive or all of the above. We are usually housed inside the company premises so that they are easily accessible. We are deprived of adequate rest because of the noise, extremely cold/hot rooms, dirty environment or too much work load.
Common problems arise from separation of the families. Extra-marital affairs, broken marriages, lack of parent figure, low self-esteem for the children or puts a higher value on materialism over relations, vices, lack of communication and an overall stress on relationships.
The prime of the migrant workers life is spent in doing hard labor and rarely does the migrant worker go back to the homeland completely free from illness or injury. The savings, if the migrant is able to save would usually be spent on medication and treatment, or the quality of life is extremely reduced, or would not be enough to secure a decent life.
Because of the limitations of the law in the protection of the migrant workers rights the system continuously threaten the job security of the workers. It has also institutionalized the abuse of the migrant workers despite of laws put into place. The contradiction of the immigration law and labor law make it difficult for the migrant workers to enjoy their full labor rights. The systems policy is also a vehicle for the migrant workers loss of status. These in turn only perpetuates the existence of undocumented workers in Korea. The system also aims to keep the migrant workforce temporary by making the working periods shorter so that they may easily exploit the migrant workers. This limits their ability to adapt, educate themselves, achieve empowerment and experience. In short they aim to keep the migrant workers submissive to their employers instead of call for better working conditions. Complaining about the bad conditions in the workplace easily endanger our job security, our visa status or repatriation.
Discrimination is commonplace in the Korean work environment as well as the society in general. The negative stereotyping of migrants like hygiene, criminality, ignorance, uneducated, poor, barbarism or the lack of social graces are the most common stereotypes for migrant workers. These stereo-typing generally paves the way for the discrimination of the migrants. Undermining the values of our humanity, we are then treated as sub-human as what is reflected in our working conditions and living conditions.
Short History of Migrants in SK
During the latter part of 1980's through the early 1990's it was notably visible that there was a sudden influx of migrant workers to South Korea. Concurrent with Korea's economic boom, the 1998 Olympics gave light to the fact that the Korean Industry is an employment opportunity for foreigners whose native countries have a high rate of unemployment and limited opportunities. The Korean Small and Medium Scale Enterprises are in dire need of this labor force because native workers refuse to work for these companies given that typically the work would be dirty, difficult or dangerous, what is otherwise known as 3D jobs.
Migrant labor came from as far as the African continent but majority of these workers came from poorer Asian neighbors. Around half of the foreign population in Korea are Chinese or Chinese-Koreans. The rest are from the 14 other EPS sending countries and others (Russia, Mozambique, Ghana, India, Peru, etc.). Asylum seekers and refugees, F2 visa holders or Korean spouses can also be considered as part of the migrant workforce since they are also employed in these industries and it is quite difficult for a foreigner married to a Korean to get citizenship and are deemed of lower stature than native Korean workers.
Before the Employment Permit System came to being, the Trainee System of employment was introduced in Korea around the 90's. This system was used to manage the migrant labor force that was growing in Korea during that time . The trainees, as they were called were not entitled to same the labor rights of Korean workers and thus, discrimination and abuse led to the rise of undocumented migrant worker population. Because of heavy criticism from social groups and communities who are sympathetic to the migrant workers, the Government drafted a new system of employment, which we now know as the Employment Permit System or EPS. None the less, migrant workers and some Korean social groups criticized EPS as still being too restrictive. These criticisms and other abuses like the crackdown led the migrant workers and Korean social groups to conduct a sit-in struggle in front of the Myeong-dong Cathedral protesting the lack of protection of migrant workers and being treated as disposable labor.
The EPS was first put in effect in 2004 and up to now is still being currently used as a system of employment for migrant workers. For the EPS workers, the employment policy restriction of limiting the work place change to only 3 times is a primary deterrence for the migrant worker to exercise their rights. Given the severity of the repercussions like losing their legal visa status, they would rather put up with the sub-standard work and living conditions. In principle, the EPS workers are on an equal footing as native workers. In reality, the policy restrictions are paving the way for abuse both physical and verbal, forced labor, excessively long work hours, not enough rest hours/days, unpaid wages, huge pay cuts, denied benefits and more. The policy restrictions serve as the invisible chain that binds them in servitude to their employers. The EPS policy on migrant workers is an ineffective tool in securing the Labor Rights and Human Rights of the migrant worker. It has not only encouraged employers to abuse their migrant workers this system also helps perpetuate all forms of abuse against EPS migrant workers.
It is especially hard for EPS workers to secure their rights under the current system but for undocumented migrant workers it is nearly impossible. Undocumented workers are criminalized in Korea. The current Crackdown against undocumented migrant workers is obviously a transgression on their humanity. Productive individuals who have contributed to the economy of Korea are treated no better than ordinary criminals. The Crackdown has led to several deaths, injuries, loss of livelihood and deep mental and emotional stress. Crimes committed against undocumented migrant workers are more often than not remain unresolved and are not given justice because the victims(undocumented workers) are the ones treated as criminals. * (cite as example: undocumented Filipina worker stabbed, undocumented Filipino worker turned over to the immigration after filing a complaint for being beaten up.)
http://migrant.nodong.net/?document_srl=26795#0
Of course not only in S. Korea migrant workers are subjects of massive exploitation and oppression, as you can read in the following article:
☞ Malaysia accused over migrant abuse (al-Jazeera, 3.24)
Last Sunday(2.28) in Hong Kong: Activists of the Indonesian Migrants Worker Union, an affiliated member of the HKCTU, protested in front of the S. Korean consulate against the ongoing repression against MTU and demanded its immediate official recognition (as a labour union) by the S.K. gov't.
The activists later handed over following protest letter to the consulate's staff:
Legal status and recognition for MTU!
Stop crackdown on MTU!
Crackdown on Migrant Trade Union (MTU) in South Korea is a shame act that has been shown by South Korea governments. This brutal act is denied the contribution of working class in South Korea, including migrant workers. Indonesian Migrant Workers Union also condemn South Korea Government which committed to union busting act by arrested and deported MTU officers and members on this several years also.
MTU it’s founded in 2005. At that time the Ministry of Labor rejected MTUs official union status, claiming that undocumented migrant workers do not have the right to freedom of association and union activities. MTU carried out a legal battle against this decision and eventually won in the Seoul High Court on 1 February 2007. However this verdict was appealed to the Supreme Court, where a decision is expected to be reached by the middle to end of this year. The Ministry of Labor bases its appeal on the claims that the right of undocumented migrant workers to freedom of association is not protected in the South Korean Constitution or stated clearly in international law. However, we know that workers are workers, entitled to the same labor rights, no matter what country they reside in under what visa status. This was clearly shown in the High Court decision, which ruled that undocumented migrant workers are the subjects of equal labor rights under South Korean law and in rulings of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (UGT [2001], AFL-CTM [2002]) and the Inter-America Court of Human Rights (17 Sept. 2003), which show that international law protects the union rights of undocumented migrant workers.
International law to which South Korea is party including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) all protect the rights of workers, regardless of social status, to freedom of association. In particular, the CERD General Recommendation No. 30(2004) states that “guarantees against racial discrimination apply to non-citizens regardless of their immigration status” and that “all individuals are entitled to the enjoyment of labor and employment rights, including the freedom of assembly and association, once an employment relationship has been initiated until it is terminated.” In addition, ILO Convention No. 87, which South Korea is bound t! o uphold as a member of the ILO, protects the right to freedom of association for all workers, “without distinction whatsoever” and has been shown to apply to undocumented migrant workers through CFA recommendations (UGT, 2001 and AFL-CIO/CTM, 2002).
We are concerned that the Ministry of Labor’s denial of MTU’s union status is in contradiction to these international conventions and to South Korean domestic law. It is our position that countries that adhere to international human and labor rights standards must protect the right of migrant workers, regardless of visa status, to freedom of association. As such, it is our position that the denial of MTU’s legal union status should be reversed and MTU should be granted recognition.
Therefore we, Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (IMWU) demand to South Korea government as follow:
Legal status and recognition for MTU;
Stop Crackdown on MTU;
Legalize all undocumented migrant workers;
Hong Kong, 28 February 2010
Sringatin, IMWU Chairperson
Two days ago: to protest against the (Lunar) New Year's crackdown on (Nepali) migrant workers in Seoul's Dongdaemun district MTU, KCTU and some supporting groups held a press conference in front of Seodaemun Police Office:
Yesterday's (bourgeois) Korea Herald reported following:
Activists protest against abuse of migrant workers
On Feb. 15, the last day of the Lunar New Year holidays, police officers and immigration authorities raided a Nepali restaurant in Dongdaemun, northern Seoul, where 30 migrant workers were having a community meeting.
The crackdown, according to the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency, was aimed at breaking up an illegal gambling syndicate in the area. However, they could not find any evidence of gambling on the premises.
The officers divided the Nepali workers into two groups - one staying here legally and the other staying illegally - and arrested 10 illegal residents immediately.
Despite police denial, no related rules on immigrant crackdown were abided by during the whole procedure, migrant workers' groups said at a press conference yesterday.
"The police didn't follow the minimum rules such as informing them of their Miranda rights. Immigrant workers are one of the most vulnerable groups in Korea. We don't understand why the authorities treat them so harshly in the name of justice," said Rep. Lee Soo-ho of the minority Democratic Labor Party.
When the Korean authorities investigate migrant workers regardless of their legal status here, they must abide by a code of practices, which took effect in June last year. The guidelines are to be offered in 14 languages.
However, because the rules are an administrative order, not legally binding, migrant groups have pointed out that there is still the possibility of human rights abuses.
Under the rules, at least one female officer should join every crackdown in case of the arrest or body check of female foreigners.
However, no female officer accompanied the police squad when they arrested 10 Nepali workers, including one woman. Moreover, she was found later to be married to a Korean man and was released after three hours of false detention.
"Hypocrites," said Michel, president of the Migrants' Trade Union, who asked not to be fully named. Assisted by Korean activists, the group helps migrant workers on legal and abuse issues.
"You (the Korean government) spend millions if not billions on advertising on how Korea is a multicultural society. ... But your policies are aimed at using our labor to feed your economy. Our rights do not matter to you," he said.
It has been four years since the 39-year-old Filipino factory worker came to Korea.
Despite its highly-publicized campaign for multiculturalism, nothing has changed in the government's treatment of migrant workers, he said. "Rather, the situation has never been worse."
"Back then when I first came here, illegal workers also used to participate in our street marches. However, now, even those staying legally feel danger and fear about the government's repressive attitude," he said.
During the press conference held by some 20 activists in front of the Seodaemun Police Agency in central Seoul, scores of police officers were dispatched, with riot police buses blocking the participants from leaving the area.
"When an event for making rice-cake soup with migrant workers was held on one side, the police were cruelly clamping down on them on the other. It is just hypocrisy and barbarism," said a statement issued jointly by migrant workers' groups.
While no official comment came from the police, the groups submitted a complaint against the Gyeonggi Police, demanding an official apology as well as a thorough investigation into the crackdown.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/24/201002240046.asp
Related:
☞ 설 연휴 이주노동자 불법적 단속, 경찰청을 규탄한다! (기자회견문)
☞ 설 연휴 이주노동자 강제단속 경찰청 규탄 (KCTU, 2.23)
The Migrants' Trade Union(MTU) published two days ago following info/protest:
We blame the police's crackdown on LunarNewYear
Report on Crackdown in Dongdaemun
Place : FEWA Restaurant, Dongdaemun
Time : around 12:00 nn, Feb 15th
· There was a meeting of a Nepal political community named UML(*).
· There were around 40 Nepali people inside the restaurant and they were about to have a meeting.
· There were two assumed immigration officers who initially came in with video cameras.
· They announced that they are allowed by law to conduct all actions that they were doing and will do.
· They were vague in introducing whether they were from the immigration or police so were the warrant statements they announced.
· The announcement was read in Nepali with written notes in Nepali and the Korean equivalent guide in pronunciation.
· They demanded everyone to not take any videos or make calls.
In the span of one hour or more they did the following actions:
· They asked for everyone’s ID.
· They took the camera of the Nepali participant in the meeting who was taking the video of the entire event.
· They deleted all the files of the said Nepali camera man who was recording the arrest proceedings.
· In the course of this raid they took documents from the restaurant owner.
· They arrested 10 people and handcuffed them in pairs. Including a woman without identification papers.
· The woman’s legal residency was verified on the immigration bus and was released after a few hours.
· The arrested workers were directly driven to the Yangju immigration office/detention center.
· Among the 10 people arrested, five are MTU members including our MTU North Branch general secretary, the UML president and other Nepal community/organization leaders.
· Of the 9 migrants who are now detained, 5 of them are known leaders in their community including MTU, three members from MTU and UML, one remains unidentified.
· A team of 15 immigration officers and police raided FEWA restaurant and the responsible/primary arresting agency was not determined initially.
The witnesses are assuming that the crackdown was probably reported by opposing political factions or they were relating it to the fight that ensued the night before. MTU inquired about this situation calling police stations where the presumed fight was under jurisdiction. There was no complaint or police blotter relating to a fight filed in the police stations in Hyehwa-dong or Dongdaemun. Afterwards, we called the Yangju immigration office to confront them about their illegal crackdown operation during the Chinese New Year season. They in turn denied responsibility in initiating the crackdown operation in Dongdaemun. They also claimed that the arrested people were merely turned over to them and claimed they had no way of knowing who or which agency turned them over. By this time we have already reported the incident to several news reporters who were able to squeeze out the information from the Yangju immigration/detention center after doing their own investigations and inquiries.
Early the following day, we came to learn that the operation was done by both the Gyeonggi police and Incheon airport immigration. The Gyeonggi police denied that it was them who led the operation and stated that Incheon airport immigration asked for their assistance. When the Incheon airport immigration was asked in turn, they claimed that it was the Gyeonggi police agency that asked for their assistance. Finally, after several hours and under much interrogation, the Gyeonggi police agency admitted that they were doing an investigation on the so called "illegal gambling operations" in the vicinity. They asked the Incheon airport immigration for assistance in their operation claiming that they needed assistance from the immigration because they needed to check the ID's and that they are ignorant of the rules for foreigners.
On the same day, February 16, we went to the immigration/detention center in Yangju and interviewed the detained migrant workers. During our initial application we were briefly interviewed by the immigration officer who appeared surprised to learn that there was a crackdown operation. Through our research, inquiries and information we received, we were able to establish the following facts:
1. The police and immigration did not provide adequate introductions.
2. Both immigration and police officers (15 people) were in civilian clothes.
3. They failed to clearly announce the objectives of the raid despite of the warrant.
4. The warrant they presented was merely for search of evidences and identification and not for arrest.
5. The warrant was issued by a certain judge in Uijeongbu.
6. The warrant was issued under premises and conditions that were unclear.
7. There were clearly no list of names of suspects for any criminal activity nor was there any commission of a crime.
8. It was not clear whether the arresting officers were the police or the immigration.
9. The police claimed that they did the raid/search in the course of an investigation against reports of gambling sessions in the area.
10. There was a community meeting and no such gambling session or any other criminal activity.
11. There was also no mission order from the immigration in doing a crackdown in the said restaurant.
12. The immigration played as the supporting agency in the crackdown.
13. There is an established separation of functions between the police and the court, and the immigration.
Conclusion:
A police arrest can only be done with a proper warrant or when suspects are in the act of commissioning a crime. The fact that they read out the declaration in the foreigners native tongue as stated in the condition on the Korean Criminal Procedure Law suggest that their ignorance of the law is unfounded and they have separate but established protocols in the arrest of foreigners who committed or are committing (a) crime/s. If they were indeed ignorant of the law, these operations should have never been done in the first place without ensuring that proper protocols are established. There is also a question as to what motivation did the court have in issuing the warrant, and its' exact contents. Clearly it shows that the arrest was illegal in the way that it was carried out. It is questionable on how the court would allow the police agency on conducting the raid and checking of the migrants' immigration status without compelling circumstances that would warrant such action. Clearly this is a blatant disregard for the law and its' protocol as well as the blurring of the lines between the function of the immigration and police.
After the police finally admitted that they were the primary initiator which led to the crackdown in Dongdaemun, we have also established the fact that the Gyeonggi police officials are liars when they denied their role in the operation. They have consistently changed their statement in trying to cover up their illegal arrests. The immigration official in Yangju also called up the MTU vice-general secretary and stated that the Gyeonggi police was also conducting an investigation on the alleged "violence or fight" between Nepalese individuals in the night of February 14. The "fight" was not even existent as far as the police stations in Hyehwa and Dongdaemun are concerned. While actual arrest of migrants doing such "illegal activities" may give them a sense of justification for forming the task-force against the migrant workers. It should also be noted that even among the Korean society, small bets or gambling and slight altercation among friends or peers could hardly be considered a crime.
If the police were conducting a criminal investigation they would not have needed the presence of the immigration officers. They should have stated their reason for inquiry/investigation, they could only ask for identification to establish identity, invite them for questioning then release them. Since there was no crime being committed there is no justification for the arrest. The migrants should have also been advised of their rights to ask for the assistance of lawyers in case of an arrest. The immigration detention center is not the proper institution that should hold suspected criminal elements.
If it was an immigration crackdown operation. They had no right to invade a tax-paying establishment unless they have a warrant to do so. As usual, there was no detention order, they were not in uniform, they did not give proper introductions, there was no account of a female immigration officer that handled the arrest of the Nepali woman in the restaurant. The establishment owner was not informed nor was asked for permission.
The arrested migrants were deprived of their human rights and legal rights and were targeted for being organized. It is also our conclusion that the raid was intended to further reinforce their propaganda of criminalizing the migrant workers. Accounting for the huge possibility of failure in their purpose, they made sure that undocumented migrant workers would be arrested by conniving with the Incheon airport immigration.
The facts and incidences of this matter only gave rise to more questions from this incidence.
1. Is the police now being mobilized to do crackdowns?
2. If they were, are there any legal provisions in the Korean Law that upholds these actions?
3. Will this incident be a precedent of the introduction of future laws or actions to empower the police force in questioning migrants if we have documentation and arrest us if we don't?
Korean Multiculturalism is a fallacy!
MTU
2010.2.16
http://migrant.nodong.net/?document_srl=26599#0
* Certainly the 'Communist' Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninst), in Nepal popularly known as "UML"... Despite its strange name just a (left) social-democratic party, currently the leading force, beside the reactionary Congress Party, in the Nepali gov't.
Related article:
☞ Immigration Makes New Year Raid on Nepalis (K. Times, 2.18)
Today is the 3rd anniversary of the horrific Yeosu Fire Disaster!
Already two days ago migrant workers (supporting) organisations, trade unions - incl. MTU, KCTU - and solidarity groups recalled the date with a protest press conference in front of Seoul's Immigration Center in Mok-dong...
Before yesterday the bourgeois Korea Times reported following:
'Foreigner Detention Centers Get Worse'
Migrant Workers Mark 3rd Year After Yeosu Fire
Three years have passed since a fire took the lives of 10 migrant workers who were being detained at an immigration center in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. On the anniversary of the tragic accident Tuesday, migrant workers' organizations renewed their calls for the closure of detention centers for foreigners.
The Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea (JCMK) and the Alliance for Migrants' Equality and Human Rights held a press conference to demand the closure of the detention centers and the end of crackdowns and deportation.
"We asked for a new approach in dealing with unregistered migrant workers. Busting and deporting them is not a proper solution," Lee Young, executive secretary of the JCMK, said. "However, the government reinforced their crackdown efforts and some 60,000 of them have been deported since 2008 and the situation at the centers has gotten worse."
They said the condoned cases of abuse against migrant workers are carried out in the name of improving the nation's competitive power. "Migrant workers are not eligible for the minimum wage and work in poorer working conditions than Korean workers. However, the government incites hostility against migrant workers claiming they threaten the jobs of domestic workers," Lee said.
The JCMK added that immigration offices and detention centers were not built for long-term confinement and thus do not have appropriate facilities to accommodate illegal migrants for a long time.
The Seoul Immigration Office held 18,153 foreigners last year, an average of 49 per day. It has been determined by the Ministry of Justice to have the capacity to hold 45 per day.
"The ministry's standard for the accommodation of detained foreigners is about four square meters per person, which is even smaller than the 6.6 square meters of other correctional facilities," Lee said. "Migrants held at the detention center need more space and equipment."
On Feb. 11, 2007, a fire broke out at the detention center of the Yeosu Immigration Office in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. The fire killed 10 migrant workers...
..and injured 18 others.
Amnesty International issued a 98-page report on the incident last year that said immigration officers and police are often accused of using excessive force against migrant workers. The organization also called for the government to ensure that during immigration raids, authorities adhere to the law requiring them to identify themselves, present a warrant and inform migrant workers of their rights, and to provide prompt medical treatment to those under their custody when needed.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/02/113_60575.html
Related:
☞ 여수 보호소 화재참사 3주기 추모 대회 기자회견 (MTU, 2.09)
☞ [2.09] Press Conference/video report (salad TV)
☞ Immigration Detention Centers in S.Korea... (Hankyoreh, 2.09)
Migrants' Trade Union (MTU) published yesterday following "Open Letter to the Korean Workers":
The Strife of the Migrant Workers
The Korean migrant worker policy is like a faulty wiring design that sooner or later would blow up in our faces. How effective is it to be able to fix this "broken" situation? Like the faulty wiring design that blows up our fuse or appliance, the migrant policy both in the labor and immigration laws are flawed to start with. The migrants are not the problem. It is the system.
Knowing this, will you allow that policy to destroy the lives of thousands of people? I am not only speaking of the lives of the migrant workers per se but of all the Korean society.
First of all, regardless of their claim that the migrant workers share the same rights as the Korean workers, in reality and in practice we all know that this is not true. Similarly, under the past dictatorship during the 70's and 80's the Korean labor force then are like the migrant workers today. Both of us have been heavily suppressed and have been denied access to labor and human rights.
Pick any workplace where there are migrant workers and most definitely these workers are the ones who would be doing the most difficult, dirtiest and dangerous work. They are usually the first ones to come in and the last ones to leave the workplace day in and day out. It is also very common that migrant workers are powerless in refusing overtime work despite their exhaustion or physical condition. They are always expected to work faster, longer, and more than their Korean co-workers. On top of all of this, the migrants are commonly cheated out of their salaries, benefits and other compensation.
The flawed Employment Permit System and the Immigration policies/laws are like that faulty wiring system. The revisions and amendments are like the fuse in that fusebox. They only offer ineffective solutions and will not really address the true problem. No matter how many revisions the EPS undergoes, it will still not be able to fix the situation of the migrant workers in Korea because the are designed to protect a self-serving interest(government's/capitalist's) and not the interest of the migrants. No matter how much information they get from the migrant population as prescribed by the new Immigration Law (fingerprinting requirement for foreigners) it will not discourage migrants from becoming undocumented if they choose to. It would not stop the few individuals who would resort to commiting crimes, fraud and misdemeanor. Just like in the US, it only will only incur unnescessary expenditures for the government without achieving any relevant goal. Apart from violating the freedom of the individual's privacy and freedom from persecution, this will only promote distrust and discrimination towards migrants and all foreigners.
In the past, quite a number of documented workers have lost their visa due to circumstances that are beyond their control. They have either lost their job for reasons such as company bankruptcy, sexual/violence and abuse, unpaid wages,were illegally terminated from their companies and other labor violations. Under the current policy, an EPS worker will now be able to change his or her workplace more than 3 times. If the conditions or reason for termination of the working relations are due to the employers fault, the change will not be counted. Just recently we have been able to experience the ineffectivity of this law. The reason lies not only on the particular law itself but in the protocol of it's application. The internal protocol of the Ministry of Labor is not to protect the migrants. The protocol is how they could appease the advocates for human and labor rights, how they could build a better (albeit, superficial) image for the Korean labor system while they prioritize the protection of the businesses and owners and NOT the migrants.
Just recently, we have been receiving a lot of cases from other EPS workers who have lost their chance to be re-employed because of their employers negligence. The Job centers upon advisement from the immigration office are now strictly enforcing the more than 1-month application period for the migrant workers re-application of contracts. This current practice in turn, makes a new batch of undocumented workers, casting a shadow of doubt in the real intentions of the crackdown and their claim that they want to keep the undocumented migrant population at a minimum. On one hand they intensify the crackdown by setting quotas for arrests, on the other hand they make more undocumented workers by introducing ineffective laws and practices. (Instead of importing new, and relatively unexperienced labor wouldn't it be easier for the government to just legalize the more experienced undocumented workers here? Is this how they could supply cheaper labor to the business owners? Is it their intention to eliminate the more experienced undocumented workers because the workers who have stayed here for more than 6 years onwards receive higher wages and are more empowered in knowing their entitlement to the law? Or is it their means of intimidating workers to be more submissive to their employers so that they would not run the risk of losing documentation? Or in the case of undocumented workers, so they will not run the risk of being reported to the immigration?)
Secondly, these inequality between migrants and local workers subverts the existing labor laws and practices. If the migrant workers are forced to provide cheaper labor than the Korean workers, it would then lower the standards both in wages and practices for all workers regardless of their nationality. The business owners and capitalist would rather spend less for more gain and the current migrant labor situation is designed to provide that cheap, disposable, easily controllable labor. Migrants are heavily disagvantaged and are forced to comply. All of us will suffer if we allow this system to continue.
Third, under the Lee administration, Korea is taking a forked-road approach with regards to foreigners. They try to build up the image of a multi-cultural Korea through their advertising and re-structuring in all fronts (education, image-building, etc.) in the name of multi-culturalism. With regards to migrant workers and labor in general the proposed policies are generally taking the opposite turn. Their propaganda against the criminality of the migrant workers and how we are responsible in turning our residential areas into slums are contemptible.
Because of the crackdown, the migrants either imprison themselves in their homes, others suffer from paranoia, others commit suicide or inflict self-injury to escape arrest, and in some isolated cases, migrants fight back to protect themselves or are driven to violence because of their insufferable conditions. The large majority go about their lives with a subservient attitude towards the demands of the Korean society, from the laws, to their company superiors and korean co-workers, to the ordinary Koreans they meet. Their avoidance of any sort of conflict pave the way to their own exploitation.
Migrants are forced into that situation because of the system and financial standing. Not because it is a part of their nature or culture. (They are forced to live in the Korean slums because it is what they can afford. While a few are forced into taking extreme measures to defend themselves such as during crackdowns, rarely will you find migrants that resort to violence in order to seek redress from the violence and abuse that they have suffered. I am not condoning the violent actions of the migrants but rather, I am providing an insight of how desperation can lead to a tragic end.)
Now more than ever, with the Lee adminstration's tyrannical policy against the labor movement, we the workers have to unite to fight against a common foe. We need to fight injustice and we need to protect the rights that our martyrs have paid for with their lives and their future.
It is relatively easy for the Korean unions to organize the migrant workers. It is also relatively easy to understand the situation of the migrant workers because aside from the immigration issue, the labor conditions we are suffering today are the same conditions that the Korean workers went through during the dictatorship. Korea had also been a labor exporting country in the past. Through this commonality, we can build on a better understanding.
Today, it is imparative for us to know the working conditions of each region, of each sector. It is imperative for us to teach them (Koreans and migrants) that we share the same labor rights. It is imparative for us teach them the importance of unity and working together and protecting each other. It is imperative for us to show them the power of unity and unionism.
The migrants will listen because all of us are frustrated by our situation. Migrants are FORCED to accept as fact, ...that being alone in a foreign land, speaking a foreign tounge, having foreign features... being a foreign worker, ...we are nothing but slaves and will always be treated as such. We will always be the lower-class minority. If this is the case, where is our justice?
It is time for us to break free from this prejudice. If the Korean workers accepts us and welcomes us like brother or sisters, if we are accepted as equals.., we, the migrant workers, will not stand behind you... will walk side by side with you and we will fight with you all the way.
I wish to live in a world that is not divided by border, by color, by language, by class nor religion...
I wish to live in a world where no one will die because of hunger, war, violence or poverty...
You can call me a dreamer... you can call me delusional... so be it.
If my dreams.., if my delusions.., are the fuel that feeds the passion in my heart to fight for what is good and what is right...
I will gladly embrace them. For in knowing that my life had a purpose makes life worth living.
-MPaulos
http://migrant.nodong.net/?document_srl=26460#0
Solidarity With the Struggle of Migrant Workers in S.K.!
Agit-prop Rally/Candlelight Vigil in Seoul
Tomorrow(Wed.), 7 p.m., Namguro Stn.(subway line no. 7), exit no. 3
!!'불법'사람은 없다!!
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