Hideous schemes in migrant labor

The Hideous Schemes that Enslave Migrant Workers A Presentation to the Asia Wide Campaign against US-Japanese Aggression and Domination in Asia (AWC), Campaign Coordinating Body (CCB) Meeting January 28-29, 2012, Seoul, Korea

By Frank Hernando
Training officer
KASAMMAKO-Migrante Korea

Warmest fraternal greetings to all of you who have come to this important program of the Asia Wide Campaign against US-Japanese Aggression and Domination in Asia (AWC), Campaign Coordinating Body (CCB) Meeting. I thank the organizers of this program for giving us, KASAMMAKO the time to share perspectives on how global empires impact the life of migrant workers in South Korea.

Whenever we discuss about issues related to migration and development, which are economic and social in nature, we connect these to the geo-political and military strategies of the empire or what we characteristically describe as countries that have prolonged and predominating control over smaller and weaker nations in every aspect of life. I would not dwell on the geo-political and military influence of the empires, specifically the United States and Japan in the Asia-Pacific, but rather briefly interrelate the phenomenon of migration with the social costs of US interventionist policies in the Philippines and South Korea. 

Bobby Tuazon, in his paper Current U.S. Intervention in the Philippines outlined the economic, social and political costs of current U.S. interventionism in the Philippines, which are the following:

a) Economic costs:  
--heightening of the exploitation and plunder of the country's natural resources including labor; -

- the subservience of the whole Philippine economy to the U.S. economy and that of other capitalist countries like Japan and EU countries;

-- the deterioration, underdevelopment and destruction of the country's economy thus causing the greater impoverishment and oppression of the Filipino people particularly the poor; -

-through their neo-colonial ties with and puppetry to the U.S., the continued domination of the country's landholdings, trade and other wealth by the elite (the landlords, comprador-bourgeoisie and big bureaucrats in government)

b) Social costs: -- the exploitation of the people particularly women due to the proliferation of prostitution, entertainment and other forms of enslavement in the service of U.S. forces; -

-due to increasing defense budgets in line with the U.S.-RP military alliance, the deterioration of public services including food, education, health, housing, social welfare and basic programs; -

- increase in the number of internal refugees displaced by government's total war policy and armed intervention by the U.S. in the guise of training exercises, humanitarian missions and others;

c) Political costs
: -- a government and military establishment that is elitist, anti-people and blindly obedient to U.S. dictation

; -- infringement of the country's sovereign, independent and territorial rights; -

- State Terrorism as manifested in the push for a “Strong Republic,” in anti-terrorism bills that threaten the people's civil and political rights and in the increase in the number and scale of human rights violations;

-- lack of an independent foreign policy that serves to reinforce the image of the Philippine government in the world community as a puppet of the U.S.

The phenomenon of migration is not a recent development in world history, but this has become well debated around the world because of the stringent labor and immigration policies imposed by many labor receiving or labor destination countries because of the increasing number of migrant workers seeking employment outside of their home countries.

 The Philippine government has introduced into its economy the labor export policy as early as the mid-1970s when the economy was plunging into the abyss primarily due to backward agriculture, which even up to the present farmers could not own the land they till the best example is the case of Hacienda Luisita, one of the bastions of semi-feudal land ownership and the owner is the family of President Benigno Aquino III. 

As mentioned above, the economic, social and political costs foreign interventionist policies primarily of the US, Japan and other imperialist countries in the Philippines have driven many Filipinos to seek jobs overseas and at present it is estimated that there are over 11 million Filipino migrant workers in many countries around the world, with concentration in the US, the Middle East and North Africa and Northeast Asia. 

In South Korea there are more than 50 thousand Filipino migrant workers of the more than 700 thousand foreign migrant workers. Migrant workers come mostly from China, South and Southeast Asia and others from Central and West Asia. The Employment Permit System was introduced in 2004 as the labor arrangement for migrant workers which replaced the Industrial Trainee System. Migrant workers living in South Korea work in a number of industries, in particular, manufacturing, construction, and in services such as restaurants and entertainment.

From our point of view, the Employment Permit System (EPS) as a labor arrangement is an instrument of enslavement of the neo-liberal capitalist globalization.   The Philippine government in 2010 reaped 18.8 billion dollars from remittances of over nine million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) worldwide. The amount is 8.2 percent higher than the previous year. It is however an irony that even with the wealth the government has amassed from the hard labor of migrant workers, social services to migrant workers still found wanting.  

 As an instrument of neo-liberal capitalist globalization the EPS has been the source of cheap labor as there has been a lack of local human resource for small and medium scale industries, thus the recourse to recruitment of migrant workers from overseas. The large scale production in the South Korean economy has undeniably benefitted from the supply of cheap labor from source countries. 

Access to cheap labor has been legalized through bilateral labor agreements such as the MOU on deployment of migrant workers.   Local capitalists and conglomerates are highly motivated to gain super profits and that requires subcontracted production from SMEs to realize their target profits, but would not give a dent on the suffering and inhumane working conditions of migrant workers. As in the case of many Filipino migrant workers in South Korea under the EPS they are classified as unskilled workers despite their educational and skills qualification.  Educational attainment in this sense is no longer significant in the profit making schemes of capitalists and factory owners.

After seven years of implementation, labor organizations and migrant workers themselves assessed that the EPS is full of flaws especially in the employment term. The 3 years original employment term plus another 2 years extension has been legally prescribed and migrant workers are forced to leave the country without the possibility of further term extension nor changing visa status for long term employment or for acquiring residency status. 

Last month, the South Korean parliament has approved the extension of the term of employment for migrant workers under EPS twice the maximum term of 5 years and 10 months. This however, does not change the existing labor practices and laws that directly affect the quality of life and human rights situation of migrant workers. 

Migrant workers have to work on extended hours up to 12 hours beyond the eight-hour labor law, without getting overtime pay. This is no different from what the undocumented workers are experiencing. Although there is a clear provision in the EPS law that that the Korean Labor Standards Act applies to all migrant workers, but the Korean government is just making a lip service to the plight of migrant workers.  

Compensation for industrial accidents experienced by migrant workers is difficult to process and access and more so with their pension and separation pays. Employers practice deceit by not contributing to the social benefits of migrant workers and they are not prosecuted and penalized for such violations.

Furthermore, the Korean government failed miserably to address the situation of undocumented migrant workers aside from offering them voluntary departure or forced deportation. There is no doubt that EPS workers whose term of employment will soon expire but wanted to continue working in the country will become undocumented too. For those whose term of employment ends after May of this year and pass the prescribed qualifications such as the Korean language test, age limit, and assured contract from employer, may have the chance to continue working in the country. 

KASAMMAKO untiringly urges both the Philippine and South Korean governments to exhaustively evaluate and assess the EPS law to improve the working conditions of migrant workers and for them to be free from the enslavement of profiteering employers, companies and capitalists that live luxuriously while their workers are suffering and could hardly survive with their low incomes.   We have been urging the South Korean government to synchronize labor and immigration laws that will better the working conditions of migrant workers, giving them more democratic rights and allowing them to exercise their rights to unionize and pursue their employment goals.   

KASAMMAKO together with other Filipino migrant workers organizations urges the Benigno Aquino III administration to take action in helping the overseas Filipino workers including those deployed in South Korea. Since the 1970s up to this time, the succeeding Philippine governments including the present Aquino government have not done anything to improve employment opportunities in the Philippines but instead continued the labor-exporting policy.

The Aquino government cut the budget of the Department of Foreign Affairs from P12.69 billion ($295 million) this year to P10.98 billion ($255 million) in 2012 and this means less social services for migrant workers and their families. The Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo admitted that the reduction of budget for OFWs  would paralyze the operations of Philippine embassies and consulates around the world. It would also mean reduced assistance to Filipinos in distress overseas. There have been too many OFWs who have died, disabled, ill, abused, jailed, stranded or in distressed situations who need the assistance of the Philippine Embassies or Consular offices, and this means adequate budget to aid and support OFWs.

In both contexts where migrant workers live and work there are hideous schemes that enslave migrant workers. The strength and blood of migrant workers are the fuel for the insatiable greed for profits and for concentration of wealth on the hands of the few. The solidarity of all workers in Asia and around the world is the bulwark of emancipation and hope for justice and peace of migrant workers and all struggling peoples.+++
END
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Footnote:
 Paper read at the conference of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines – National Capital Region on Oct. 21, 2003 at San Beda College auditorium, Manila. Author Tuazon is also a member of the Center for Anti-Imperialist Studies (CAIS), http://bulatlat.com/news/3-41/3-41-primer.html.

Migrant Workers' Resolve and Commitment

Our Resolve and Commitment
Text: Joshua 24: 14-15
Kasammako Assbly
24 January 2012
By Frank Hermando

Joshua 24:14-15 (RSV)

14 "Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

15 And if you be unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

MEDITATION
1. Occasions like this reminds me of the many general assemblies and conferences I've attended throughout my adult life. 

2. What makes a conference or a general assembly stands out among others is the culmination through renewal of commitment to the vision, mission and goals of the church denomination or an organization or a political party. 

3. The text I have chosen for this meditation is the narration of the biblical writer about the general assembly that Joshua and the elders of the Israelite tribal confederacy held for covenant renewal in Shechem. Biblical historians locate this event at around 1100 BCE, the time when the Israelite tribal confederacy was consolidated and the predominantly peasant nation had established its basic social support systems such as the land tenure system, where each family was assigned an agricultural land to till, justice system carried out by both the elders and the judges, polItical and ethical leadership by the elders and prophets and the people's army, which was more of guerilla force than a standby army. Social stability depended on the quality of life ensured by the tribal confederacy.

4.  The most compelling statement Joshua said to the Israelites was "choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

5. Choosing the god that people will serve was very important because who and what people had been serving determines the kind and quality of life they will have. When people serve the gods of the Canaanites they will have economic prosperity, but not social justice, they may have social security but only for the landlords. Israel's tribal confederacy has Yahweh, the God who freed them from slavery in Egypt and guided them to forge unity through a covenant. A covenant is similar to a constitution of a nation and of an orgnization. 

6. A covenant embodies the highest aspirations of the people who went through difficultsituations. It is a resolve to live in community of equals rather than of master-slave relationships.

7. Choosing the biblical God Yahweh as the center of our life as a nation as Filipinos and as  global citizens means that we have to choose the direction of establishing a reign of justice as opposed to the reign of greed and oppression brought about by the imperialist annexation and aggression. 

8. When we choose to live in covenant relationship, means we have to make our total resolve and commitment to evolve a society where justice, peace and love are lived. This also means do our share of responsibilities entailed to both individuals and to communities or organizations.

9. The situation of migrant workers in South Korea can be characterized as modern day slavery in the context of insatiable greed for super profits of companies especially by transnational corporations. 

10. By forging greater unity and alliance amongst organizations migrant workers can strengthen their resolve and commitment to free themselves from modern slavery in various forms.

Prayer for the New Year

PROK Morning Office
09 January 2012

SCRIPTURE READING
     Psalm 136

PRAYER

Most loving God,
God of every beginning,
We praise and adore you.
A new year has dawned upon us.
We thank you for another brand new year, a 365 days of life and service.

We are filled with hopes and expectations of how your grace and love will bring goodness, health and opportunities.  

By faith and prayers we trust that you will nourish and sustain us especially in times of difficulties and confusion.

Firm-up our wavering empathy for persons in work and community. May we unfalteringly express your practical compassion in our relationships.

Let not prejudice and selfishness be the basis of our self-esteem and human dignity, but your love that encompasses even our muted anxiety and insecurity.

We are confident in faith that nothing will separate us from your abounding and steadfast love.

Bless and empower us to do our share in the building of peace in our society and the world. 

We pray these in the name of Jesus Christ, our source of New Life. Amen.