On the afternoon of Nov. 9, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) organized the National Workers’ Rally at Yeouido Street in the Yeongdeungpo District of Seoul, to honor the 49th anniversary of the death of Jeon Tae-il, which falls on Nov. 13. Jeon Tae-il was a textile worker who set himself on fire to protest poor working conditions in 1970.
The organizers estimated that 100,000 people attended the rally to call for the end of noxious changes to labor laws; the adoption of the basic rights of workers; the abolition of irregular workers, who occupy the lower tier in Korea’s dual labor market; and greater fairness in society.
“This is a desperate society for workers: as soon as the government suggests one way the system could be made worse for labor, the National Assembly throws in an idea of its own. Irregular workers are even being forced to join affiliates of public companies, disregarding a ruling by the Supreme Court. A government that doesn’t represent workers and throws labor under the bus has no right to speak of inclusion or fairness,” KCTU Chair Kim Myeong-hwan said during the rally.
Another speaker at the rally was Do Myeong-hwa, vice chair of the Korean Democracy and Federacy Workers’ Union, which has been holding a sit-in at the headquarters of the Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC), in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, for two months now, since Sept. 9, demanding that the company directly hire its toll collectors. “This country doesn’t even obey the Supreme Court when it orders workers to be hired directly. How are things any different from 49 years ago [when Jeon Tae-il died]?” Do said.
“The KEC claims being hired by its affiliate means that we’re being hired as regular workers, but the affiliate is just a big group of irregular workers, and our treatment there is little different from when we were working for a subcontractor,” said Baek Heung-gi, 55, a toll collector.
There were also calls to legalize irregular workers in the educational sector, which includes about 200,000 cooks and school helpers at schools around the country. Currently, these workers are only mentioned in the regulations of certain cities and provinces.
“I’m suffering from a musculoskeletal disorder and have faced various physical conditions and accidents. But despite the pain, I have to just pop a painkiller and stay on the job because we don’t have any substitutes,” said Mun Gyeong-hwa, 50, who works at a cafeteria at an elementary school in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province.
“Public workers in education need to be converted into ‘real’ regular workers,” Mun said.
By Oh Yeon-seo, staff reporter
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