Migrant workers struggle for overdue wages

A tranquil afternoon at an industrial district in Anyang, a satellite city on the outskirts of Seoul, was shattered last Monday by a group of protesters demanding the payment of overdue wages for a Bangladeshi worker.

"Pay outstanding wages," the protesters yelled in front of a paper-coating factory where the Bangladeshi, surnamed Hussein, worked until recently. Hussein has overstayed his visa so he could be deported if caught by immigration officials.

Despite the risk, the 32-year-old held the rally to receive 4.5 million won ($3,650) in overdue wages, his pay for August to December 2008.

"The employer transferred ownership of the company to his son-in-law and claimed he had no money to pay the unpaid salary," said Chung Yong-sup, a protester and spokesman for the Migrants' Trade Union.

In April last year, the employer promised to pay the wages by September as ordered by the Ministry of Labor but it was an empty promise, Chung said.

Pressured by the rally and mounting criticism in the neighborhood, the new owner, the son-in-law, promised to settle the problem by November. "We will keep watching how the owner deals with this issue," the activist said.

It was the second rally of this kind by the union this month alone - the first rally held last Saturday in Paju, a city near North Korea where scores of small and mid-sized factories are located.

As the number of migrant laborers has rapidly increased in recent years, so has the number of those struggling with unpaid wages.

There are approximately 500,000 migrant workers here who mostly work in the manufacturing, construction and agriculture industries. Nearly 10 percent of them overstay their visa, thus their presence here is illegal.

Foreign envoys and the international community have urged the Korean government to take tougher action against employers "maliciously" delaying salary payments.

Vulnerable to exploitation

Yet, no significant improvement has been made. In 2008 alone, 6,849 migrant workers filed complaints with the labor ministry over delayed wage payments for unclear reasons, up from 2,249 cases in 2007, statistics show.

By June last year, 4,659 complaints of this kind had been lodged ― from the latest data available ― indicating a worsening situation.

The amount of unpaid salaries has soared - 4.4 billion won in 2006, 17.3 billion in 2008 and 12.1 billion won for the first six months of last year. The vast majority of affected workers are Chinese, followed by Vietnamese and Filipinos, statistics show.

"Migrant workers overstaying visa are particularly vulnerable to this issue because of their illegal status here," said Rep. Park Dae-hae of the ruling Grand National Party, who made public the statistics. "It's urgent to establish an independent body to deal with the issue regardless of the residential status of the affected workers."

With regard to the growing problem, human rights watchdog Amnesty International issued a report last October elaborating working conditions facing migrant workers here, and called on the Seoul government to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers through rigorous labor inspections. In February, envoys from major manpower exporting states to South Korea called for tougher state action for the advancement of the human rights of their citizens here.

Labor officials say they make their utmost efforts to contain the problem, but admitted putting all problematic firms on its watch-list is all but impossible.

"Those delaying wage payments in order to avoid it in the end will face criminal punishment," said Shin Dong-jin, a labor ministry official covering migrant worker-related issues.

The government runs two insurance policies - one by the state and the other by a private insurance firm, Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company - to help migrant workers get full payment before they leave the country. But critics say the compensation guaranteed by the policies is "too small to cover unpaid salary" on average.

The state insurance covers up to 7 million won, while the private one guarantees only 2 million won. In most cases, critics claim, the amount of unpaid salary for each worker is over 10 million won on average[b]