The government declares that it is encouraging the country to have more children but places of employment are not being supportive about maternity leave. In a survey of the members of 185 unions in the Gyeonggi regional Federation of Korean Trade Unions, only 23 percent of respondents said someone had taken maternity leave at their respective companies in the past two years. Only three companies have day care centers. That shows you that the problem is not limited to one specific area, and is symbolic of the reality faced by female workers.
There is nothing new about the situation. In November of last year the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) did a survey of female irregular workers in government agencies, and 97.8 percent said they were unable to take maternity leave, while 43 percent said they were even unable to take time off for childbirth. In a survey by a women's' portal site last May, only 4 percent of respondents said they had taken time off to take care of their children, and only 30 percent said they were even unable to take adequate time off for childbirth. The methodology and target of these surveys all differ, but it is not difficult to sense how women are finding it hard to take time off for childbirth or taking care of their children after childbirth.
The government's policy of encouraging citizens to have more children is criticized by some for being wrongful interference in personal choices, but given the reality of the workplace it has been hard for the government's campaign to be effective. Furthermore, time off for childbirth and childcare is more profound an issue than policy encouraging more children. Time off is needed so that women can maintain their health and so that they can raise children, our future, to be healthy and happy. If there are not enough workers the difference can always be made up with foreigners, but if women and children are unhealthy there is nothing that can be done.
Before telling the country to have more children, the government needs to spend more effort enforcing the law that guarantees time off for childbirth and childcare. Companies, for their part, must not be interested in nothing other than short-term profit. They need to realize that raising children is an investment in all of our future.
The Hankyoreh, 3 January 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] When Maternity Leave is a Luxury |
