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A foreign worker paticipates in a press conference and rally held by civic groups in Seoul, demanding that the rights of foreign workers be guaranteed.
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Gov’t body comes under fire for inaccurate answers
A state-run center affiliated with the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business [sic], set up to resolve disputes and ease the plight of foreign workers facing problems with their employers, has been accused of responding inappropriately to some of these workers’ concerns. The criticism was prompted after the center’s consulting records were revealed by Rep. Jo Jeong-sik of the ruling Uri Party on October 17. According to the federation’s records, on October 21, 2005, when a group of seven foreign workers under the government’s "Industrial Trainee System" came to find out what they could do about getting their wages, which had been withheld by their employer, a consultation official merely noted, "Their place of work is delaying their payment," but told them there was nothing that could be done. On June 10, 2005, when a foreign worker sought advice while seeking to be re-hired after the end of his or her contract period, a consultation official answered, "If you leave your company now, your family members will be taken to court,"On July 18, 2005, when a company asked about its plan to forcibly deport foreign workers, an official at the federation told the company, "There will be no problem as long as the deportation is conducted well." When an Indonesian worker asked on December 14, 2005 whether he or she was required to open an installment savings plan, the federation advised the trainee to ask the question to a workforce management institution. These mandatory installment plans were made illegal in 1999, as they gave employers an unfair leverage over workers, who would not be able to collect their savings if they chose to leave. The federation said it received a total of 462 consultation cases from foreign workers last year, but most of them were carried out through its affiliate center’s branch offices. Only 56 cases were directly handled by the federation. Despite dispensing such inaccurate and potentially harmful advice, the federation collected 9.3 billion won (US$9.7 million) last year from employers of foreign workers.
