How to secure the labor, housing, and health rights of migrant agricultural women workers (2023)

Chunhee Woo, University of Massachusetts PhD candidate

and author of “The Struggle for Leaves”

Labor and Health Research Report

Korea Institute of Labor Safety and Health

2023

Translated by Jaehyun Lee

Chapter 1: Introduction

1. Research Purpose

Migrant workers from 16 countries enter South Korea with E-9 non-professional work visas. In 2022, 84,000 migrant workers entered South Korea, and in 2023, 120,000 entered. In 2024, 165,000 migrants are expected to enter South Korea, the largest influx yet.

After working for 4 years and 10 months, migrant workers can work in South Korea for up to 9 years and 8 months through re-entry.

Despite working for nearly a decade, their human rights remain largely neglected. Working and living conditions in agriculture are poor, leading to many health problems.

As of July 2019, foreigners are required to enroll in health insurance, but there are structural barriers to accessing healthcare.

This study aims to provide an overview of the health problems caused by the working and living conditions of female migrant workers in their 20s and 30s through the employment permit system.

This study aims to examine reproductive rights related to contraception, pregnancy or pregnancy termination, childbirth, and child rearing in the lives of migrant women workers in their 20s and 30s.

2. Research Methods

Participatory observation and interviews were conducted for about 3 months from June to August 2023.

Participants included:

• 10 migrant workers (5 legal, 5 undocumented)
• 7 business owners (Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Gyeongnam provinces)
• 7 experts (doctors, labor attorneys, lawyers, activists)

Chapter 2: Labor Conditions and Health Rights in Agriculture

On August 5^th, a hot day with a heat warning, the working conditions in the perilla leaf field and leek field were as follows: For 8 out of 9 hours of the workday in the perilla leaf field, the temperature was over 30°C and the humidity was 80%. For 8 out of 9 hours in the leek fields, the temperature was above 30°C and the humidity ranged from 65-90%.

These high temperatures and humidities resulted in high body temperatures and workers should have been provided with breaks to rest to prevent heat-related illness, but they were not given the time and space to do so.

In winter, many workers suffered from frostbite while picking perilla leaves, lettuce, etc. and many had skin diseases on their hands due to exposure to pesticides, but they did not receive proper medical treatment and relied on medication provided by the employer.

They often relieve themselves in the fields or hold their urine because toilets are too far away. This can lead to bladder infections. This connects to the dignity issue of “right to urinate,” which is a fundamental right of workers to go to the restroom.

Chapter 3: Problems in the workplace

Employers often yell at migrant workers for not doing a good job. Incidents of slapping have even occurred. If you get hurt on the job, it is an occupational injury, but it is hard for individual workers to think about injuries this way. Physical violence is accompanied by routine verbal abuse. Workers do not know where to go to complain and are forced to work under threat of being fired.

Sexual harassment and sexual violence also occur in the workplace, but structural barriers make it difficult to seek help.

The number of workers with unpaid wages and the total amount owed is increasing every year, but there are no fundamental solutions. Migrant workers are forced to return to their home countries when their visas expire. The lack of wages puts them under extreme stress and hardship.

Another problem for migrant workers is overstaying their visas. The employer authorizes the worker to extend their stay or re-enter the country. Because employers have the power to determine migrant workers’ residency status, migrant workers put up with not being paid the minimum wage. Nevertheless, when employers do not extend their visas, migrant workers’ visas expire and they become undocumented.

Chapter 4: Healthcare access constraints and occupational accidents in rural areas.

Since July 2019, health insurance has been compulsory for foreigners and expatriates. It will cost an average of ₩140,000 per month in 2023 (~USD$100).

As of 2022, there were 1,343,172 insured people and a surplus of 556 billion won in the fiscal balance of insurance premiums. Over the five-year period from 2018 to 2022, the cumulative surplus in premiums amounted to 2.272 trillion won. This means that many migrants received less in insurance benefits than they paid in premiums. The corresponding healthcare services are not being provided. For example, interpretation services are only available in English, Chinese, Uzbek, and Vietnamese.

Agricultural workers suffer from musculoskeletal disorders that are not addressed through workers’ compensation.

The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service previously recognized meniscus tears in the knees of an agricultural workers with over 10 years of service as covered by workers’ compensation based on the presumption principle. There have been cases where migrant workers’ musculoskeletal disorders have been recognized as covered by workers’ compensation. However, as of 2022, this principle is no longer applicable. The Ministry of Employment and Labor issued a notification, increasing the number of covered musculoskeletal disorders from six to eight and adding occupations, but agriculture was not included. This is a disadvantage to workers in agriculture.

The case of Sok Heng, who died while sleeping in a plastic greenhouse, was approved for workers’ compensation. Acknowledged factors included long hours of work, a working environment that prevented him from going to the hospital even when he was sick, and the fact that the heating system was not working on the day of his death. Despite measures taken by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, about 70% of agricultural workers still live in temporary structures such as shipping containers and houses made of panels inside plastic greenhouses.

Sudden deaths of migrant workers due to stress from long hours of work, assault and verbal abuse from employers are posted on social media, but they are rarely investigated.

In agriculture, workers’ compensation insurance was not mandatory for businesses with fewer than five employees. It has been pointed out that the accident rate is high and needs to be improved. From February 3, 2023, individual farming and fishing businesses with fewer than five employees will be required to purchase worker’s compensation insurance or farmer’s safety insurance in order to obtain a migrant worker employment permit.

Chapter 5: Housing and the Right to Health in Agriculture

As the phrase “a plastic greenhouse is not a home” suggests, the housing issue in the employment license system has long been a problem. Currently, farmworkers pay expensive monthly housing costs of 200,000 and 400,000 won per person. However, many of these spaces are vulnerable to natural disasters such as flooding, heat waves, or extreme cold.

Despite these high housing costs, dormitories are spaces where employers interfere and control migrant workers. Employers do not allow migrant workers to bring their friends, fiancées, or husbands to the dormitory. Employers claim this is for administrative reasons, but the main reason is that it reduces work efficiency.

The concept of the right to adequate housing needs to be applied to migrant workers’ housing. This right includes: 1) legally guaranteed security of tenure, 2) availability of housing infrastructure and services, 3) affordability, 4) habitability (ensuring minimum housing standards), 5) accessibility, 6) appropriate location, and 7) cultural appropriateness. This should be interpreted in the active sense of the right to live in a place of safety and dignity, rather than the passive and restrictive sense of merely the provision of housing.

Chapter 6: Reproductive rights, reproductive health, and the right to establish a family

Migrant women workers are often in their 20s and 30s, and their age coincides with the reproductive period involving pregnancy and childbirth. Despite this, there are few systems in place to ensure migrant workers’ reproductive rights, reproductive health, and the right to build a family.

Even when migrant workers want to purchase contraceptives, they often lack access to information on how to purchase the right medication for them.

Regarding termination of pregnancy, while the criminal abortion law was automatically abolished on January 1, 2021, there is no legislation to ensure women’s health rights, and policies to ensure safe termination of pregnancy are absent. Migrant women workers are still having to find their own clinics and abortions. There is a need to improve access to information and ensure that migrant women are able to fulfill their reproductive health rights and self-determination.

According to Article 74(1) of the Labor Standards Act, pregnant women are entitled to 90 days of maternity leave, and migrant workers are also entitled to this leave. However, one of the major conflicts between employers and workers is the pregnancy of migrant workers. For employers, a migrant worker who becomes pregnant is a loss of labor and is considered problematic behavior and may lead to dismissal. Migrant workers are very afraid of being fired, having an unnatural pregnancy, or being deported, so they try to resolve these issues on an individual level.

If a migrant worker gives birth to a child in South Korea, the child does not have South Korean citizenship. As a result, the child cannot enter the social welfare system for infants and young children. This means it is impossible for them to raise a child in South Korea while working. Therefore, the only options are to permanently return to their home country with the child, or leave the child in their home country while working in South Korea.

Migrant workers on non-professional worker visas (E-9) are not allowed to bring their families with them. Family reunification rights are not recognized because the system does not allow them to bring their families. However, a significant number of migrant workers are living with their families despite lacking this right.

Article 36 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea and Article 23 of the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights recognize the right to family unity, which means that the family as a social unit is entitled to protection. Reforms are needed to ensure that this right is extended to migrant workers.

Chapter 7: Conclusions and Recommendations

Heat waves are likely to become more frequent in the future due to the climate crisis. In workplaces with high temperatures and humidity, workers should be provided with adequate rest breaks during the day to prevent heat-related illnesses. Heat-related illnesses can be fatal. Frostbite can also occur during the winter months, even when working inside greenhouses. Skin diseases are common due to pesticide exposure. Workers must be informed that they can seek medical attention if they develop an illness while working. It is also necessary to provide restrooms near the workplace to ensure workers’ right to dignity, including the right to urinate.

Police and labor authorities should actively investigate violence, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, and sexual assault in the workplace, and laws and systems should make it easier for migrant workers to change workplaces if they wish. Regarding wage arrears, the system of “payment in lieu,” whereby the state pays the overdue wages first to the worker and then to the employer, should be applied regardless of whether the workplace is covered by worker’s compensation.

The law should be changed to allow migrant workers to decide whether they want to stay in the country, rather than relying on the employer to extend their visa. This will create a working environment where migrant workers are not dependent on their employers and can raise issues if they have problems.

The health insurance premiums for foreigners and expatriates contribute 500 billion won to the budget surplus each year. Equivalent healthcare services should be provided. At a minimum, interpreters in 16 languages should be available so that migrant workers know where to go if they are sick, what to expect when they get there, and their medical diagnosis.

Migrant agricultural workers work in squatting, kneeling, and back-breaking positions all day long, so any musculoskeletal disorder that occurs should be recognized as an occupational disease under the presumption of occupational injury if it meets certain timeframes and criteria.

Migrant workers need to be able to enjoy their right to adequate housing, free from interference and control by employers, in safe and affordable accommodations.

Given that migrant women workers are often in their 20s and 30s, systems need to be designed to recognize their reproductive rights, including contraception, pregnancy or termination, childbirth, and childcare. Migrant workers should also be guaranteed the right to form and live with a family.