Immigrant Workers Suffer Overdue, Unpaid Salaries
미불/체납된 월급으로 힘든 이주노동자  
  
 
 
 
The number of migrant workers who haven't received their pay doubled over the last two years and the amount of the money owed has surged, according to data from the Ministry of Labor, Monday.

The ministry said 3,877 foreign workers working at 2,025 different workplaces as of August this year had not been paid their wages. The amount of money employers held back stood at 9.5 billion won, far higher than 2.6 billion won in 2006.

The workers were owed about 2.4 million won per person.

Many workers turned to legal help in getting their overdue wages. The Korea Legal Aid Corp., handling lawsuits once the labor ministry confirms the unpaid wages, said it has received 1,727 complaints from people owed 5.2 billion won by August. In 2006, the amount was 1.8 billion won for the entire year.

During the parliamentary inspection of the ministry, lawmakers said the rises in unpaid wages showed the government was paying little attention to protecting foreign residents. They said it had scrapped the ``first-aid-later-report'' policy, which allows illegal immigrant workers here to receive their overdue wages first then be reported to the Immigration Office. Therefore, these workers do not ask for legal help, fearing deportation, said Rep. Kang Sung-chun of the Grand National Party.

Moreover, the ministry has changed management's obligation to take out insurance polices guaranteeing wage payment into an optional one, allowing more employers to evade paying salaries, the lawmaker said. He called for the government to apply stricter rules to help the 438,000 immigrant workers here.

bjs@koreatimes.co.kr   2008  11.  02