S. Korea: Migrants filling labour shortages amid 'demographic crises' experience abuse upon arrival incl. in agri-food supply chains & manufacturing
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Mar 2024
Location: South Korea
Other
Not Reported ( Logging & lumber ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Bangladesh , Logging & lumber , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Occupational Health & Safety , Injuries , Restricted access to medicines , Racial, ethnicity, caste or origin discrimination , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , IntimidationResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Mar 2024
Location: South Korea
Other
Not Reported ( Clothing & textile ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Bangladesh , Manufacturing: General , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Wage Theft , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure TimeResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Mar 2024
Location: South Korea
Other
Not Reported ( Agriculture & livestock ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Nepal , Agriculture & livestock , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Contract SubstitutionResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Mar 2024
Location: South Korea
Other
Not Reported ( Metals & steel ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Bangladesh , Metals & steel , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Occupational Health & Safety , Injuries , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Access to InformationResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Mar 2024
Location: South Korea
Other
Not Reported ( Plastics ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Manufacturing: General , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Fair & Equal Wages , Racial, ethnicity, caste or origin discriminationResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Shutterstock (licensed)
“South Korea Needs Foreign Workers, but Often Fails to Protect Them”
…the nation is more dependent than ever before on an import to keep its factories and farms humming: foreign labor.
This shift is part of the fallout from a demographic crisis that has left South Korea with a shrinking and aging population. Data released this week showed that last year the country broke its own record — again — for the world’s lowest total fertility rate.
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government has responded by more than doubling the quota for low-skilled workers from less-developed nations including Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, the Philippines and Bangladesh. Hundreds of thousands of them now toil in South Korea, typically in small factories, or on remote farms or fishing boats…
…foreign workers were nearly three times more likely to die in work-related accidents compared with the national average, according to a recent study…
…For nearly three years, Mr. Asis worked 12-hour shifts, six days a week, in a small textile factory for a monthly salary of about $2,350 — which he did not regularly receive.
“They have never paid me on time or in full,” he said…
Migrant workers annually report $91 million in unpaid wages, according to government data…