Migrant Workers Abused in S. Korea: Amnesty
Many migrant workers in South Korea are abused, trafficked for sexual exploitation or denied wages despite the introduction of rules for their protection, AFP reported Wednesday, quoting Amnesty International.
South Korea became one of the first Asian countries to recognize the rights of migrant workers when it implemented the Employment Permit System (EPS) in August 2004.
"Now, five years into the EPS work scheme, migrant workers in South Korea continue to be at risk of human rights abuses and many of the exploitative practices.... still persist," the rights group was quoted as saying in a report.
Norma Kang Muico, Amnesty's East Asia researcher, said the EPS was a good starting point.
"What is lacking is the implementation," she told a news conference. "There is not enough monitoring on workplaces... when abuses do take place, nothing is done to rectify them."
Migrant workers still incur large debts to pay exorbitant fees to brokers but find on arrival that jobs are different from what was promised back home, the report said.
They are barred from changing jobs without their employer's permission.
Amnesty said migrants often have to operate heavy machinery or work with dangerous chemicals with little or no training or protective equipment, and suffer a disproportionate number of industrial accidents.
"Interviews that we had with migrant workers (showed) that they all had some form of industrial accident" ranging from minor to quite severe, Muico was quoted as saying.
Women migrant workers are particularly at risk, the report said. "Many are sexually assaulted or harassed by the management or their co-workers."
At some entertainment venues including establishments in U.S. military camp towns, women with entertainment visas were expected and at times forced to have sex with customers.
Amnesty urged the government to carry out rigorous inspections to ensure migrants' rights are observed, to protect female migrant workers and to stamp out sexual exploitation and harassment.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/10/113_53945.html
Many migrant workers in South Korea are abused, trafficked for sexual exploitation or denied wages despite the introduction of rules for their protection, AFP reported Wednesday, quoting Amnesty International.
South Korea became one of the first Asian countries to recognize the rights of migrant workers when it implemented the Employment Permit System (EPS) in August 2004.
"Now, five years into the EPS work scheme, migrant workers in South Korea continue to be at risk of human rights abuses and many of the exploitative practices.... still persist," the rights group was quoted as saying in a report.
Norma Kang Muico, Amnesty's East Asia researcher, said the EPS was a good starting point.
"What is lacking is the implementation," she told a news conference. "There is not enough monitoring on workplaces... when abuses do take place, nothing is done to rectify them."
Migrant workers still incur large debts to pay exorbitant fees to brokers but find on arrival that jobs are different from what was promised back home, the report said.
They are barred from changing jobs without their employer's permission.
Amnesty said migrants often have to operate heavy machinery or work with dangerous chemicals with little or no training or protective equipment, and suffer a disproportionate number of industrial accidents.
"Interviews that we had with migrant workers (showed) that they all had some form of industrial accident" ranging from minor to quite severe, Muico was quoted as saying.
Women migrant workers are particularly at risk, the report said. "Many are sexually assaulted or harassed by the management or their co-workers."
At some entertainment venues including establishments in U.S. military camp towns, women with entertainment visas were expected and at times forced to have sex with customers.
Amnesty urged the government to carry out rigorous inspections to ensure migrants' rights are observed, to protect female migrant workers and to stamp out sexual exploitation and harassment.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/10/113_53945.html
