,....................... का लागि यो लेख हेर्नुहोस्

दक्षिण कोरियामा कामदार भर्नासँग सम्वन्धित विषय जोडिने भनेको पछिल्लो समयमा सो मुलुकमा भइरहेको तिव्र विकाससँग जोडिएर आउँछ सन् २०१३ मा आइएलओले गरेको एक अध्ययनले तिव्र रुपमा भइरहेको आर्थिक रुपान्तरणले सो मुलुकमा उच्च दक्ष कामदारको माग अत्यधिक भएका कारण जनशक्ति धेरै भएका गरिव छिमेकी मुलुकहरुबाट आप्रवासी कामदारहरु भर्ना गर्नु आवश्यक भएको देखाएको  दक्षिण कोरियाका साना मझौला उद्योगहरु, निर्माण क्षेत्र सेवामुखि व्यवसायमा मा मुख्य गरी कामदारको अभाव

अन्य एसियाली देशहरु(उदाहरणका लागि थाईल्याण्ड, मलेसिया)को जस्तो दक्षिण कोरियाको कमजोर श्रम बजार भएका गरिव मुलुकहरुसँग सीमाना जोडिएको छैन जसका कारण यस मुलुकमा अनियमित रुपमा आप्रवासी कामदार भित्रिन मुस्किल जापानको जस्तै दक्षिण कोरियामा पनि सजातिय जनशक्ति थियो १९९० सम्म कोरियाको कानूनले न्यून दक्षता भएका प्रवासी श्रमिक(आप्रवासी कामदार) लाई रोजगारीका लागि मुलुकमा भित्रियाउन बन्देज लगाएको थियो  यो भर्खरै परिवर्तन हुन थालेको हो यो परिवर्तनले कोरियाली नागरिकमा असन्तोष बढाएको कतिपयले बढ्दो आप्रवासी कामदारको संख्याले भविष्यमा समस्या निम्त्याउन सक्ने बताउँछन्

वदलिंदो अवस्था कामदारको अभावलाई सम्वोधन गर्न दक्षिण कोरियाले रोजगार अनुमति प्रणाली(ईपिएस) को सुरुवात ¥यो जसले आप्रवासी कामदारलाई भर्ना गर्दछ यसको उद्धेश्य जाती, नश्ल, धर्म, लिङ्ग लगायतका आधारमा हुने भेदभाव हुन नदिनु रहेको  यस मुलुकसँग प्रवासी श्रमिक(आप्रवासी कामदार) नीति सम्वन्धि कमिटी रहेको जसले हरेक बर्ष कति आप्रवासी कामदार लिने भन्ने संख्या तोक्ने गर्दछ  त्यसपछि सो संख्या सम्भावित श्रोत मुलुकहरु जससँग दक्षिण कोरियाले द्धिपक्षिय श्रम सम्झौता गरेको (१० वटा मुलुकहरु), उनीहरुलाई बाँडिन्छ त्यसैले दक्षिण कोरियाले नीजि बैदेशिक रोजगार व्यवसायीहरु मार्फत कामदार लिने मध्यपूर्वी एसियाली देशहरुको प्रकृयाको विपरित सरकार सरकारबीचको समन्वयमा कामदार लिने गर्दछ भर्ना भइसकेपछि आप्रवासी कामदारहरुले कोरियाली नागरिकले झैं अधिकार पाउने गर्दछन्, केवल रोजगारदाता फेर्ने अधिकार बाहेक बीमा, स्वास्थ्य सेवा, पेन्सन लगायतका सुविधाहरु भनें कोरियाली नागरिकलाई झैं प्राप्त हुन्छ

दक्षिण कोरियाको कामदार भर्ना प्रकृयामा यति सवल पक्ष हुँदा हुँदै पनि आइएलओको रिपोर्टले यसका कमिकमजोरीलाई पनि उजागर गरेको सुरु देखि नै कामदार अभावलाई पर्याप्त रुपमा सम्वोधन गर्न यो प्रणाली असफल भएको रिपोर्टले कामदारको क्षमता उनीहरुले प्राप्त गर्ने रोजगारीबीच बेमेल रहेको प्रसस्त देखाएको अक्सर ईपिएसले व्यवसायजन्य स्वास्थ्य सुरक्षाका हिसावले असुरक्षित क्षेत्रको काममा कोरियाली नागरिकको तुलनामा आप्रवासी कामदारलाई दिने गरेको दक्षिण कोरिया आउने आप्रवासी कामदारले माध्यमिक तहको शिक्षा पुरा गरेको हुनुपर्ने भएपनि उनीहरुलाई गलत ठाउँमा काम लगाइने भएका कारण उनीहरुको क्षमताको उपयोग नहुने उनीहरुसँगको सीप पनि काम नलाग्ने हुँदै जान्छ  

उपलव्ध प्रमाणहरुले दक्षिण कोरियामा मुख्य गरी कृषि क्षेत्रमा काम गर्ने श्रमिकहरु शोषण, दुव्र्यवहारमा पर्ने गरेको समस्या  एम्नेष्टि ईन्टरनेशनल(२०१४) ले रोजगारी परिवर्तनमा अन्यन्तै कडाई गरिएकोमा ईपिएसको आलोचना गरेको यो व्यवस्थाले विकल्प रोज्न नपाउदा कामदारहरु बाध्यकारी श्रममा पर्न रोजगारदाताको शोषणमा पर्ने जोखिमलाई बढाएको उसको भनाई  गैरकानूनी हुनुका वावजूद कतिपय रोजगारदाताहरु अन्य फार्महरुमा आफूले ल्याएका आप्रवासी कामदार रोजगारीमा पठाउने गरेर कामदारलाई विनिमयको बस्तु बनाउदछन् कामदारहरुलाई रोजगारीबाट हटाइदिने स्वदेश फिर्ता पठाइदिने धम्की दिन्छन् कतिपय यस्ता घटनाहरु द्यर्ता छन् जसमा रोजगारदाताले पुरा तलव नदिने, अतिरिक्ति पारिश्रमिक विना अतिरिक्त समय काम गर्न बाध्य बनाइने तथा पर्याप्त आराम गर्न नपाउने समस्या कामदारले भोग्नुपर्दछ(एम्नेष्टि ईण्टरनेशनल, २०१४) विषादीको काम गर्दा पर्याप्त सुरक्षाको प्रवन्ध नहुने गरेको गुनासो पनि आप्रवासी कामदारले गर्ने गरेका छन् एम्नेष्टि ईण्टरनेशनल(२०१४) ले आप्रवासी कामदारको गुनासोलाई गम्भीर रुपमा नलिएको तथा आप्रवासी कामदारलाई गलत व्यवहार गर्ने रोजगारदातालाई सजायको भागिदार नबनाएकोमा दोषि ठानेको  

अर्को समस्या, बैदेशिक रोजगारमा जान चाहने कामदारले त्यसको खर्च जुटाउन भारी मात्रामा ऋण लिन बाध्य हुनु पर्दछ(एम्नेष्टि ईन्टरनेशनल, २०१४)  

थप जान्नुहोस् आईटीयू विश्वव्यापी अधिकार सूचकांकमा आधारित देशका श्रमिक अधिकारहरूको आदरको डिग्री यहाँ

 

 

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).