Case: Illegal Dismissal of Hospitalized Migrant Worker
In September 2010 R, a Bangladeshi migrant worker, was working the nighttime shift at a factory in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province when he began to feel pain in his heart. He went to a hospital emergency room, accompanied by a Korean manager, were he was diagnosed with a cardiac infarction and told he would have to stay in the hospital for roughly 20 days. R's employer did not visit the him once while he was in the hospital. When R returned to his factory, he found that his employer had already fired him despite the fact that it is illegal to fire a worker who is receiving treatment for an injury or illness acquired on the job. R went to the Ministry of Labor for help, but was given no assistance. He was simply told by the job center officer to move to another factory. What is more, R found that because he had been fired he no longer had health insurance. R went to the National Health Insurance Corporation, paid the fee for local registration and was able to receive coverage. Afterwards, R came to MTU. MTU helped him to file a complaint against illegal dismissal and apply for industrial accident insurance from the Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service. The Ministry of Labor found in favor of R's claim against illegal dismissal and ordered his former employer to pay him 3 million won. The Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, however, informed R that he would have to wait until February for the committee that reviews industrial accident claims to meet and decide on his case. R is still receiving treatment on his own. Despite his difficult situation, he is making every effort to solve his problems and will soon be able to get compensation for his illness.
