The NHRC Advises the Government on How to Protect the Rights of Migrant Workers
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC) advised the prime minister"s office on 10 February 2003 to abolish the current "industrial trainee system" and introduce a new work permit system in order to prevent further discrimination against migrant workers in Korea.
The survey was done on 1,078 foreign workers and the results were staggering: human rights violations have occurred widely in their daily life and working environment. The foreign workers have suffered from long working hours, low pay, poor working conditions, withheld wages, occupational diseases, accidents at the workplace and seizure of their passports. The survey"s results are supported by the petitions that have been filed at the NHRC.
In order to reduce the number of foreign workers becoming illegal aliens, the NHRC has advised the prime minister"s office to legislate a bill ensuring a foreign immigrant worker as follows: full labor rights, access to medical insurance and worker"s compensation, and wages standards that are similar to Korean workers.
In addition, the NHRC has advised that the same law should be applied to the illegal alien workers, even when they are in the process of being arrested. When state officials inspect migrant workers, they must show proof of their identity and clarify the intentions of the inspection. In cases when the workers are being detained and taken to a police station, the authorities must disclose the location to which they are being taken and grant them the opportunity to make a phone call.
Furthermore, the NHRC has recommended that the so-called Immigration Control Law (Article 84 clause 1) should be amended so that the illegal aliens can be protected from deportation while the redemption process is in progress. Since an increasing number of women are entering Korea with the "art and entertainment" (E-6) visas, and many of those women have not only become involved in the nation"s sex industry but also become victims of sexual assault, the E-6 visa system must be re-examined and the Immigration Office must reinforce the policy of issuing such visas according to their original intent.
Lastly, the NHRC has recommended publishing, distributing and furnishing basic guidebooks in which the immigration process and immigrant worker"s rights are translated in more than 10 different languages.
