3 out of 10 migrant workers hit by extreme financial difficulties

By Kim Bo-eun

Three out of 10 migrant workers in Korea have had to skip a meal at least once due to financial difficulties, a report showed.

The report was based on a survey commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission among 124 migrant workers.

The survey showed 29 percent of the respondents had skipped a meal in the past year due to financial constraints.

Among them, 4.8 percent said they had gone without a meal 10 times or more in the past year.

The results of the survey indicated that living conditions for migrant workers, many of whom are engaged in the so-called 3D (dirty, difficult, dangerous) jobs, remain very poor.

The financial constraints not only had them skip meals, but also sleep out on the street. According to the survey, 10.6 of the respondents said they had experienced being homeless.

However, these workers had little place to turn to under such dire circumstances. Their responses to how they coped with such situations were either receiving help from fellow workers or that they could not receive any help at all.

This reflects the absence of a social safety net for these workers.

The commission announced guidelines for migrant workers' human rights last year, advising workplaces to inform the workers of industrial accident compensation insurance and health insurance.

However, more than 50 percent of them were completely unaware of the insurance, the survey showed.

According to the survey, 32.3 percent of the migrant workers had experienced a case in which they were unable to go to hospital despite an illness or injury. Among those surveyed, 51.6 percent did not have health insurance.

The situation is especially more difficult for undocumented immigrants, as they are unable to subscribe to health insurance. They have to pay huge amounts of medical fees when they go to the hospital.

"For illegal immigrants, not only are they themselves ineligible for national health insurance service, but also their family members," said an official.

"Since the number of migrant workers is expected to continue to grow, a new approach is necessary in dealing with the conflicts that arise while working as foreigners here," the official said.

"The social welfare system needs to be expanded so that migrant workers can also receive these benefits. A long-term approach should focus on building the capabilities of these migrant workers so that they can be integrated into Korean society."