Kantipur Report
KATHMANDU, Aug 17 - Tens of thousands of migrant workers in South Korea face discrimination, exploitation and appalling working conditions, according to a new report by Amnesty International (AI).
Many face a spiral of debt and are forced to work illegally because their employers withhold their salaries and existing laws make it hard to change jobs legally, the London-based human rights watchdog -- AI said in a statement Thursday.

Around 360,000 migrant workers -- or 1.5 percent of the workforce -- were believed to be working in South Korea as of June 2006, based on government and NGO figures. Workers come from Nepal, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia among other countries. |

In January 1995, the AI report said 13 Nepali trainees made history at the Myongdong Cathedral in Seoul by organizing a protest to bring public attention to the human rights violations faced by migrant workers and trainees in South Korea.

Their rally had highlighted widespread abuses such as verbal and physical violence in the workplace, the seizure of passports by employers, long hours of work in poor conditions, delays in paying wages and the lack of care or compensation for trainees and migrant workers who were injured or killed at work.

South Korea is the first country in Asia to protect the rights of migrant workers in law. But two years after the Act Concerning Employment Permit for Migrant Workers (EPS Act) came into force on Aug.17 2004, foreign workers still face multiple abuses, industrial hazards and few possibilities for obtaining redress, the report said in its findings.

"South Korea led the region in legislating for the protection of migrant workers. Now the government must address the problems that continue, such as unpaid wages, difficulty in changing jobs, and hazardous conditions -- ultimately it must ensure that migrant workers are treated as human beings and that their rights are respected," said Rajiv Narayan, East Asia researcher at AI.

Migrant workers work excessively long hours for lower wages than Korean workers. They experience high levels of physical and verbal abuse in the workplace and often work in dangerous conditions.

Nepalis’ sorry tale

"BS", a 33-year-old Nepali man, who worked for Misung Industry, a plastic manufacturing company in the southern city of Daegu:

"On 7 October 2005, my left hand glove got stuck and rolled into the plastic making machine; I could not remove my hand. It was not until my left shoulder was about to roll into the machine that the machine was stopped. I heard later that people could hear the sound of the bones being ground by the machine... When taken out the machine, my arm was without flesh or bones... There was no first aid... "



Misung Industry initially kept the accident secret and refused to tell BS' friends where he was, until they threatened to tell the police. After five months the company stopped paying for BS' medical treatment. BS still suffers great pain in his arm and cannot work. He is having to pay for treatment out of his savings and does not want to go back to Nepal before getting compensation.
“Most migrant workers are unaware of their rights and those suffering abuse face numerous obstacles trying to access justice. Yet they face intimidation by officials when they try to organise trade unions to try to protect themselves from such abuse and discrimination," said Rajiv Narayan.

YB, a Nepali migrant worker, April 2006 :
"I was working in a company in Yesan, Chungnam Province. On 15 January 2005 I was hit in the head by a 500kg heavy sand bag; the ligaments in my leg were also torn…"

"When I was injured, the employers took me to a small clinic, where I stayed for three days and I received inadequate treatment. Later I was taken to Dankook Hospital where I was operated upon; I received treatment there for six months. While the doctor advised me not to work, the employers made me work. After one year, the manager did not let me get physiotherapy treatment…"

"Although I received some money for treatment, I did not receive insurance money as the boss did not report my injury to the insurance company…The company refused to renew my contract and tried to get me deported on Jan.25, 2006. I knew it from one of my work colleague so I ran away from there…".

"I live at my friend’s place. Because of my injured leg, I cannot work. So I cannot pay the debts that I have incurred back home. My daughters can’t study and my family members suffer in poverty. My eldest daughter earns some money by breaking rocks in Nepal; it is hard manual work. My passport is with immigration authorities and I am now an undocumented migrant worker."



Women migrant workers are reportedly at risk of sexual harassment and violence, the report stated. “A woman migrant worker from Nepal told Amnesty International that it was usual for women migrant workers to suffer sexual harassment at work carried out by their supervisors,” quoted a Nepali woman as saying. “She cited many occasions when she had been woken in the middle of the night by a drunken supervisor who violently beat on her dormitory room door, shouting at her to open the door.”
Many foreign workers have paid large fees to recruitment agencies in their home countries which they then need to repay -- but find that salaries are lower than promised or employers fail to pay them on time, the report said, adding that the resulting debt forces many to seek a new employer who might pay a regular salary.

“But the EPS Act has failed to make it easier to change employer, meaning that those trying to escape crippling debt or harsh working conditions have little choice but to work for a new employer without the correct documentation.”