Ang mga pangunahing isyu sa recruitment sa South Korea ay nauugnay sa mabilis na pag-unlad na nagaganap sa bansa sa mga nakaraang taon. Ayon sa isang pag-aaral noong 2013 ng ILO, ang mabilis na pagbabagong pang-ekonomiya ay nagbigay daan sa pagtaas ng pangangailangan para sa mga highly-skilled workers, at kaya naman nagkaroon ng pangangailangan upang mag-recruit ng mga dayuhang manggagawa mula sa mahihirap na bansa na marami ang lakas paggawa. Ang kakulangan sa manggagawa sa Republika ng Korea ay naka-concentrate sa mga small at medium-sized na mga negosyo sa pagmamanupaktura, konstruksiyon at mga negosyo na nakatuon sa serbisyo.
Kabaligtaran sa ibang mga bansa sa Asya (hal. Thailand, Malaysia), walang borders ang South Korea sa mahihirap na bansa na may maluwag na mga labor market, kaya naman mas madali para sa bansa na makontrol ang hindi regular na imigrasyon dito. Katulad ng Japan, halos homogenous ang lakas paggawa sa South Korea; hanggang 1990, ipinagbabawal ng batas ng Korea na mag-hire ng low-skilled na migranteng manggagawa sa bansa. Nagsimula na lamang itong magbago kamakailan. Ang mga pagbabagong ito ay di katanggap tanggap sa ibang mga taga-Korea, at ang tensyon ay maaaring tumindi pa habang ang bansa ay patuloy na tumatanggap ng maraming dayuhang manggagawa.
Upang matugunan ang pagbabago sa lipunan at kakulangan sa paggawa, itinatag ng South Korea ang Employment Permit System (EPS), isang admission program para sa mga dayuhang manggagawa na naglalayong labanan ang diskriminasyon batay sa lahi, etnisidad, relihiyon, kasarian, atbp. Ang Foreign Worker Policy Committee ang nagtatakda ng taunang quota para sa mga dayuhang manggagawa na papapasukin sa bansa. Ang quota ay ibinabahagi sa mga potensyal na bansang pinanggagalingan ng mga manggagawa na pumirma ng bilateral agreement sa Republika ng Korea (10 bansa). Samakatuwid, ang South Korea ay umiiwas sa mga pribadong recruitment agencies at nagrerekrut ng mga dayuhang manggagawa sa pamamagitan ng government to government communication, hindi tulad sa mga bansa sa Middle East. Pagkatapos ng recruitment, ang mga dayuhang manggagawa ay may mga karapatan tulad ng mga manggagawang Koreano, maliban sa restriksyon sa pagbabago ng employer. May karapatan sila sa mga benepisyo, tulad ng insurance, pangangalagang pangkalusugan, at pensiyon.
Bagaman maraming mga nabanggit na kalakasan ang proseso ng recruitment sa South Korea, may mga pagkukulang din ito ayon sa isang ulat ng ILO. Una, hindi sapat ang sistema sa pagtugon sa kakulangan sa mga manggagawa sa Korea. Madalas magkaroon ng mismatches sa pagitan ng mga kakayahan ng manggagawa at mga kinakailangan ng mga trabaho na kanilang natatanggap. Kadalasan, naha-hire ang mga dayuhang manggagawa sa mga mas mapanganib na mga workplaces kumpara sa mga Koreano. Dahil karamihan sa mga dayuhang manggagawa na pumupunta sa South Korea ay may secondary education, ang kanilang misplacement ay humahantong sa brain waste at de-skilling.
Dagdag din na isyu ang pang-aabuso sa mga migranteng manggagawa lalo na sa sektor ng agrikultura sa Republika ng Korea. Pinipintasan ng Amnesty International (2014) ang EPS dahil sa pagiging mahigpit nito sa pagbabago ng trabaho na naglalagay sa panganib sa mga migrante – nililimitahan nito ang mga opsyon ng mga manggagawa na siya naming nagiging dahilan upang mabiktima sila nang sapilitang paggawa at pagsasamantala ng mga employer. Sa kabila ng pagiging iligal, maraming mga employer ang nagsa-subcontract ng mga migranteng manggagawa sa ibang mga bukid, tinatrato sila bilang mga kalakal, at pinagbabantaan na tatanggalin na maaaring humantong sa kanilang deportasyon. May ilang mga kaso kung saan ang mga employer ay hindi nagbabayad ng buong suweldo, hindi nagbabayad ng overtime, at di nagbibigay ng sapat na pahinga sa mga manggagawa nito (Amnesty International, 2014). Dagdag pa rito, may mga migrante rin na nagpahayag ng mga alalahanin tungkol sa hindi sapat na proteksyon halimbawa kapag nagtatrabaho sa mga pesticides. Inaakusahan din ng Amnesty International (2014) ang pamahalaan ng South Korea na hindi seryosong inaasikaso ang mga reklamo mula sa mga migranteng manggagawa at hindi inuusig ang mga employer na umaabuso sa mga migranteng manggagawa.
Isa pang pangkaraniwang problema ang mga migranteng manggagawa na nalulubog sa utang upang matustusan ang kanilang pag-migrate para sa trabaho sa Korea (Amnesty International, 2014).
Alamin ang higit pa tungkol sa degree of respect para sa mga manggagawa 'karapatan sa bansa batay sa ITUC Global Karapatan Index dito.
See below Updated Content 7 April 2022.
The main recruitment-related issues in South Korea are associated with the rapid development that the country has been going through in recent years. According to a 2013 study by ILO, rapid economic transformation has produced a rising demand for highly skilled workers, thus creating the need to recruit foreign workers from labour-rich but poor neighbouring countries. Labour shortage in the Republic of Korea is concentrated mainly among small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, construction and service-oriented businesses.
As opposed to other Asian countries (e.g. Thailand, Malaysia), South Korea does not have borders with poor countries with loose labour markets, which makes it easier for the country to control irregular immigration. Similarly to Japan, South Korea has had a relatively homogeneous workforce; until 1990, the Korean law prohibited low-skilled migrant workers' employment in the country. This started changing only recently. These developments have caused certain dissatisfaction among the Korean population, and some have argued that the tensions might intensify further as the country admits more foreign workers.
To address the changing environment and labour shortage, South Korea created the Employment Permit System (EPS), an admission program for foreign workers, which aims at countering discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, etc. The country has a Foreign Worker Policy Committee, which determines annual quota for foreign workers to be admitted to the country. The quota is then shared to potential origin countries which have signed bilateral agreements with the Republic of Korea (10 16 countries). Therefore, South Korea avoids private recruitment agencies and, in contrast with Middle Eastern countries, recruits foreign workers through government-to-government communication. After recruitment, foreign workers have similar rights as native workers, apart from a restriction on changing employers, and are entitled to similar benefits, such as insurance, healthcare, and pension.
Regardless of the mentioned strengths of South Korean recruitment process, an ILO report also highlights its shortcomings. To begin with, the system fails to adequately address labour shortages. The ILO reports frequent mismatches between the workers' capabilities and the requirements of the jobs they receive. Often, the EPS places foreign workers at workplaces that are more dangerous in terms of occupational safety and health, as compared to Korean nationals. Since most foreign workers coming to South Korea have at least secondary education, their misplacement leads to brain waste and de-skilling.
In addition, evidence suggests that abuse of migrant workers especially in the agricultural sector is an issue in the Republic of Korea. To secure stable labor force of companies and protect Korean workers, the change of the workplace of migrant workers through the general employment permit system is possible only for specific reasons, and the number of times is limited. However, the Korean labor movement, including the Migrants' Trade Union, opposes the regulations because this regulation does not protect "freedom of choice of occupation, equal rights, and prohibition of forced labor." Amnesty International (2014) criticises the EPS for being too restrictive regarding job change which increases migrants' risks of forced labour and exploitation by employers due to limited alternative options. Despite being illegal, many employers seem to subcontract migrants to other farms treating them more as commodities and threatening workers with dismissal, which might lead to deportation.
It has been reported that in some cases employers do not pay the full salary, that migrants must work overtime without compensation and do not get adequate rest (Amnesty International, 2014). According to Article 63 of the Labor Standards Act, work hours, recess, and holidays are not applied to agriculture workers, etc. In addition, the legal minimum wage for general sailors is higher than the legal minimum wage for workers working on the land. However, migrant sailor workers are subject to a separate minimum wage.
Dormitory problems are also serious. Plastic greenhouse, container boxes, and accommodations without a toilet are often provided as dormitories. And, a considerable amount of money is often deducted from the monthly salary for dormitory expenses. The improvement of accommodation for workers who entered through EPS is underway, but for other migrant workers, even regulations are still poor. In 2022, there was a migrant worker who died in a fire at the factory's accommodation. (https://www.khan.co.kr/national/labor/article/202203031347001)
The issue of health rights is also serious. According to the Migrants' Trade Union, the incidence of industrial accidents among migrant workers is higher than that of Koreans. Workers at workplaces without business registration of fewer than five agriculture workers are not allowed to subscribe to workplace health insurance. A local subscription is required, which is higher than the workplace health insurance fee. Medical accessibility is very low due to labor without holidays, lack of information on medical institutions, and lack of interpretation, so health rights are limited.
In addition, migrants voiced concerns about insufficient protection for instance when working with pesticides.Amnesty International (2014) furthermore accuses the South Korean government of not taking complaints from migrant workers seriously and of not prosecuting employers who treat migrant workers unfairly.
Another common problem is that migrant workers get into huge debts to be able to finance labour migration (Amnesty International, 2014).
Find out more about the degree of respect for workers rights in this country based on ITUC Global Rights Index here (2021).