By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Lee Ok-soon was in a packed subway car heading to southern Seoul in the midst of the morning rush hours, Monday. Most passengers had, as usual, either blank or frustrated expressions on their faces, while the 54-year-old wore an expression of excitement and pleasure all the way to the Renaissance Hotel in Yeoksam, her place of work, where she was "de facto" fired nine years ago.
"I feel like I'm in a dream. I didn't expect this moment to come," Lee said in a heightened state of emotion. "I was so thrilled that I was up all night. But I'm not tired at this moment."
Arriving at the hotel with five other peers at 8:40 a.m., Lee hugged the others and hailed the reinstatement of their original positions ㅡ full-time maids hired by Renaissance.
"We will do utmost efforts to provide the best services to our guests as we did during our first year in this career," she said, posing for photographs with a banner that read, "Congratulations. We made it after nine years."
With a beaming smile, Lee said, "This is the happiest day I've ever had."
Their reinstatement was made about 40 days after an appellate court recognized the six women as full-time employees of the hotel and ordered the Renaissance to reinstate them, upholding a lower court's verdict.
Lee started to work at the Renaissance as a full-time maid when it opened back in 1988. In the face of sluggish business, the hotel established a subcontractor, headed by one of its former executives, in late 2001 and forced its maids to transfer to the new agency's payroll, promising the same treatment in salary and welfare benefits.
But the transferred workers soon saw their income slashed by one-third and welfare benefits removed, according to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which has supported their litigation.
They protested, but the hotel management held no liability for the disadvantaged, citing documents they signed to switch their employer to the outsourcing agency from the hotel, the labor union said.
In 2004, eleven maids, including Lee, lodged a petition with the Ministry of Labor, arguing they were virtually employees under direct management of the hotel, not those controlled by the agency. The ministry accepted their petition, issuing a legal binding statement ordering the Renaissance to reinstate them.
But the hotel appealed the decision and then terminated its contract with the subcontractor, leading to the agency going out of business and the petitioners becoming jobless.
They filed a suit against the hotel and in January 2007 the Seoul Central District Court upheld the ministry's decision.
"It was confirmed that the subcontractor had been fully supported financially and controlled by the hotel," the court said in the ruling statement. "Given this, the plaintiffs should be regarded as full-time employees of the Renaissance."
The Seoul High Court upheld the verdict in early February but recognized six out of the 11 petitioners as full-time employees of the hotel, saying five have already reached the retirement age of 60. These five appealed to the Supreme Court.
"Many say they do the job for money. It's true but for me it's also a source of happiness," Lee said. "It's regrettable that all 11 of my peers were unable to be reinstated at the same time. But I believe they will also have good news soon."
Wrapping up a five-minute standing interview on a chilly street, she hurriedly made her way into the hotel corridor, saying, "I should not be late on the first day."