REPORT ON 8TH MARCH, 1998

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CAMPAIGN

by Young-sook JUNG

Chairperson of the FKTU Women's Committee

& Coordinator of the Campaign

Federation of Korean Trade Unions

THEME : 1+1=Women's Power

Achieving Employment Security and Social Equality

ACTIVITIES

1. Cyber debate during the period of event.

2. Commemoration Conference

1) Central Conference : Seoul - March 8, 1998

2) Local events : Inchon - March 4, 1998

Masan - March 5, 1998

Kwangju - March 10, 1998.

Pusan - March 14, 1988.

3. Distribution of posters.

4. 4 times of news release.

DURATION for the Campaign: Feb. 23 ¡­ March 8

DATE(of Commemoration Convention): 14:00-17:00 March 8, 1998

PARTICIPANTS : 1,000 persons

union members, family members, university students

VENUE : Grand Hall of the Housing & Commercial Bank

Yoido, Seoul

¢¸ CENTRAL COMMEMORATIVE CONVENTION ¢º

1. Objectives of the Convention

1) To confirm and resolve the realities and existing issues of women

workers in commemoration of 90th anniversary of 8th March

International Women's Day.

2) To expand the unity and solidarity of the formation of women labor

movement by co-sponsoring by Federation of Korean Trade Unions

(FKTU) and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) for the

first time.

3) To enhance the propaganda effect of women laborers' problem area

by conveying the voice of women laborers who are socially isolated in general, and forming favorable response of the masses on the realities.

4) To shape support formation to presently labor fighting business

enterprises and enhance resolutions for confronted fighting in relation

with accelerating unstability of women worker under IMF system.

2. Major Issues of the Convention

1) Gaining the shortening of labor hours of 40 hours per week.

2) Objecting segregated layoff of women worker and increase of women

employment in public workplace sector.

3) Punishment of responsible persons for economic crisis.

4) Expansion of the application of labor-related laws, employment policy

and social security to all workers including small industries and

casual workers.

5) Reduction of defense budget and increase of social security budget,

expansion of social burden for the protection of maternity.

6) Systematization of small industries and irregular workers.

3. Contents of the convention

¡ß Opening song ¢Ñ photo ¨ê,¨ì,¨î

¨ç FKTU : Kumi city branch allied singing group

¨è KCTU : Federation of Public Service Union singing group

¡ß Declaration of event opening

¡ß Symbol dance "The rising we" ¢Ñ photo ¨ë

(Dancing performance bearing the meaning of the health of working

women : performed by Ms. Lee, Yu Mi and others)

¡ß Admission march of flags: ¢Ñ photo ¨í

Admission of the flags of the FKTU, KCTU and KWWC (Korea Women

Workers' Council) and their subordinate leagues and branches.

¡ß Opening speech : ¢Ñ photo ¨ç,¨é

Mr. Park, In Sang (President of FKTU),

Mr. Dan, Byung Ho (Acting President of KCTU),

¡ß Formation and congratulatory message

(Speeches of 7 speakers had been recorded in advance and played by

video tape)

-Lee, Hyo-Jae, Joint Representative of the ¡¸Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan¡¹

-Ko, Song-Ja, Representative of the¡¸Korea Women Farmers Associations¡¹

-Ji, Eun-Hee, Representative of Association of Women's Organisations

-Choi, Yong-Sun, union member of Dongseo Security(Male),

-Chang, Soo-Hee, member of Korea Cosmetics Union (Female)

-Foreign woman workers from Nepal,

-Future Worker

¡ß Congratulatory song: Singer-Ryu, Keum Shin.

¡ß Slide Film Showing: History of women labor movement.

¡ß Opera : "Our hope, Our choice". ¢Ñ photo ¨ï

¡ß Insistence :

1. For gaining the right of temporary workers

- Kim, In-Hwa (Editing committee member of Korea Horse Racing

Association Employees' Union)

2. Solution of IMF era, dissolution of chabols and enlargement of social

security

- Yim, Mi-Ae (Women's Director of Korea Oil Pipe Corporation Union)

¡ß Loud Reading of the Resolution "1998 Women Worker's Declaration".

¡Ø Refer to the attachment

4. Showing the Slide film titled "Wild flowers, fire flames,

their name is the women workers".

This slide film has been produced to publicly propagate the history of women labor movement from 1970's to 1990's. This slide film introduces model labor fighting and issues of young aged female workers who had played major role of economic growth in 1970's, and the fighting for wage increase of women workers, abolishment of discrimination based on sex, protection of maternity and raising children, women labor-related law, all of which have started to erupt with big labor fighting of 1987. Presentation of this slide film is aimed at encouraging today's women worker's desire to practice as a subjective female worker in the work site inheriting their predecessors' fighting spirit, and also emotionally present labor fighting of their predecessors.

5. Performance of Opera "Our hope, Our choice".

This opera performance tour is in progress throughout local

commemoration convention (Inchon, Masan, Kwangju area).

¡Ü Performers : Players of opera firm "Kumkang", and players of women

art group "Orum".

¡Ü Explanation of Opera work and its summary.

¢¸ LOCAL COMMEMORATIVE convention ¢º

1. The areas conducted commemorative convention.

1) Inchon area : March 4th(Wed.), 18:00

Place: Grand convention room of Bupyung-Ku office.

Title of convention : "Inchon area women workers' convention toward

employment stabilization and social equality in commemoration

of 90th anniversary of 8th March International Women's Day"

Program of convention :

Part 1: Commemorative ceremony:

Opening performance/Opening speech/Congratulatory speech/Encouraging

speech/Congratulatory song/ Adopting Resolution.

Part 2: Perform the opera "Our hope, Our choice".

2) Masan area: Mar. 4th(Thu.) 18:30

Place: Youth's Social Welfare Center

¡Ø Herewith, the Title & the Program of the Convention is similar to the above.

2. The areas planned to conduct commemorative convention.

1) Kwangju area : Mar. 10th(Tue.) 18:30

Place : YWCA grand hall.

2) Pusan area : March 14, 1998 (Sat.) 14:00

Place : Pusan Railway Station Plaza

CYBER DEBATE

Cyber debate has been popularly conducted from Feb. 23 to Mar. 8 in Naunuri (one of Korean Network) debate index.

(site name: women 38).

¡ß DEBATE IN COMMEMORATION OF 3.8 WORLD WOMEN'S DAY : IMF ERA AND WOMEN ¡ß

1. Should women workers be preferentially laid off?

2. Changing the status of women workers as casual employee is unfair.

¢º Organization of panel for listening to experts' opinion!

¡ÞArrangement of more profound opportunity of debate on women employment.

¡ÞNational assembly member, certified labor expert, attorney, researcher

of women labor issues, women worker circle, telephone of equality, labor union and its members and leaders, employees under non unionism

firms, more than 100 persons from above mentioned field.

¢º Wonderful affirmative response!!

¡ÞMore than 500 opinions were registered in the debate conducted for 2 weeks.

¡ÞEach opinion has been referenced 40 times, issue opinions marked the reference numbers over 2,000 times of reference.

¢º Intense discussion on the reality of women labor!

¡ÞReality of nationwide women labor and formation of the voice of

various fields of the society.

¡ÞReality of mass lay-off and get-worsening labor conditions, disclosure

of social atmosphere of accepting the reality of lay-off and the search

for serious alternatives.

¢º First step of women workers' voice in cyber space.

Positioning in the effort for employment stability and social equality.

OUTCOME OF THE EVENT

It is appraised that an important opportunity has been gained to promote ; the enhancement of consciousness for securing and strengthening of women worker's right, strengthening the power of unity and systematization of the organization, converting the consciousness of male workers to the reality of women workers, making the chance of spreading social public opinion on the employment stability of women workers by demanding the need for deliberation on the alternatives to overcome dually pressed women workers' life, and establish the frame of positive formation with labor union and women's social body for the systematization and consciousness of women workers.

< Attachment 1 >

RESOLUTIONS

1. We demand the followings to the government.

1) To establish and put into action an epoch-making measures for the

maintenance and expansion of employment opportunity.

¡Þ Create job opportunity for 1.2 million workers by shortening legal

work hour to 40 hours per week.

¡Þ Government create employment opportunity in public sector, and

implement women workers allotment system in newly created

employment positions.

2) Take immediate and strong action against illegal lay-off, preferential

lay-off of women employees and illegal labor activities.

¡Þ Sharply strengthen and expand the administrative power to monitor,

prosecute and correct the compliance with labor-related laws.

¡Þ Take strong action on illegal dispatching firm and illegal temporary

employment.

¡Þ Sharply strengthen equal employment institute.

3) Central government and local government municipality drastically

expand employment stability and social security.

¡Þ Establish overall measures on employment stability, unemployment

issue, vocational training and reemployment arrangement.

¡Þ Apply labor-related laws and 4 big social insurance law to the

enterprises with less than 5 employees and temporary employees.

¡Þ Expand equal employment measures and social securities to the

employees of small enterprises and temporary employees.

¡Þ Execute big increase of social security budget decreasing defense

budget.

¡Þ Guarantee equal chance of vocational training to women employees.

¡Þ Establish employment measures to preliminary employees.

¡Þ We object the retreat of various social security systems such as

support for raising children, industrial safety and 4 big social

insurance, etc. Drastically expand social security systems and

implement them fruitfully.

4) Immediately ratify fundamental ILO Conventions

Immediately ratify ILO Conventions related to labor conditions of

employees, three basic labor rights and women workers.

5) Investigate the responsibility for economic failure, punish competent

responsible persons and strongly push ahead to promptly perform the

reformation of rich family enterprise groups.

2. We demand the followings to the employers

1) Immediately cease illegal lay-off, preferential lay-off of women

employees and unfair labor practices.

2) Faithfully perform the effort to maximum avoid the lay-off.

3) Contribute the property of the head of big capitalists, the primary

offender of economic crisis, and their family for the restoration of the

enterprises.

4) Promptly implement the reformation such as securing the clearness of

business enterprises, separation of ownership and management,

preparation of combined financial statement, etc.

5) Guarantee employees' participation right in personnel actions and

company management.

6) Liquidate the Federation of Korea Industry(FKI), a primary offenders

group of economical crisis.

3. We resolve as follows to fight for the demands mentioned in the above.

1) We recognize unemployment of women workers and unstability of

employment as the problem of whole workers.

2) We will fight in the front for the movement for the revision of

women labor-related law.

3) We will fight in the front for the movement for the strengthening

and practical compliance of employment equality, protection of maternity

and support of raising children which we have secured through our fight.

4) Labor union will implement positive actions for the systematization and

consciousness of women workers.

5) We will take initiative for the organizing of irregular workers,

employees of small companies and unemployed, and construction of

organization and strengthening of the unity by each different

industries which is confronted task of each union movement unit.

6) We will take positive actions for the expansion of participation of

women members in the labor union, and the participation in major

decision-making bodies.

7) We will take leading position for the eradication of violence in the

work place and home and for the change of sexual discrimination

culture.

8) Labor union and women bodies unite each other for the enhancement of

women workers' right.

9) We will lead social reform movement.

Date : March 8, 1998

All participants in nationwide women workers convention in commemoration of 90th anniversary of 8th March International Women's Day