Activists condemn new foreign nanny program as ‘abusive, discriminatory’

Members of rights groups hold a rally against a city government-led foreign nanny program, near Seoul City Hall in central Seoul, Wednesday. Newsis

Human rights groups are condemning a new foreign nanny program launched last week by the central government and Seoul, urging officials to scrap what they call an “abusive” and “discriminatory” policy toward foreign workers.

Speaking to journalists near Seoul City Hall on Wednesday, representatives from 32 organizations argued that the program's primary goal is to create a supply of cheap labor, thereby exploiting domestic workers. They also warned that the policy could drive down wages for Korean workers over time by lowering overall working conditions.

This comes after the announcement by the Seoul Metropolitan Government that holders of one of the four visas ― D-2, D-10-1, F-3 and F-1-5 ― can apply for permission via outsourcing service firm EasyTask to be employed as domestic workers, babysitters or both.

For service users, it will be a more affordable version of a similar government-run program through which parents living in the city could hire Filipino caregivers. However, unlike the Filipinos, workers participating in the new project will not be subject to the Labor Standards Act and, therefore, can be paid less than the minimum wage, as they would work under private contracts, according to officials.

Article 11 of the law says, “This Act shall neither apply to any business or workplace in which only the employer’s blood relatives living together are engaged nor to servants hired for the employer’s domestic works.”

Although the law applies to citizens and noncitizens alike, most citizens would not take such jobs as there are other options available, the activists said.

“This is a racist scheme against migrant workers, which exploits a labor law loophole, shown in the Labor Standards Act … This will trap migrant women in the shackles of ultra-low wages,” the groups said in a statement. “Not only does it fail to meet (the policy goal of accommodating) universal child care needs, but it also encourages the downgrading of working conditions for all workers, not just domestic workers.”

Song Eun-jung, an activist of a Seoul-based immigrant rights group, said the policy is clearly not aligned with the spirit of the International Labor Organization’s anti-discrimination rules.

“This would also have serious adverse effects on our society,” Song said. “If the government pushes for the discriminatory policy against immigrants, it will hurt Korea’s reputation on the global stage.”

The protesters also accused EasyTask of unlawfully providing a platform for the workers and their potential employers without being registered as a business entity for that role.

After speaking to the media, they filed a criminal complaint with the police against the company. The city government said EasyTask will obtain a license before being formally involved in the program by providing matching services in June, adding such a license is not legally required yet.

International students (D-2), job seekers (D-10-1), parents and family members of marriage immigrants (F-1-5) and spouses and minor children (F-3) of employees holding certain long-term visas have applied for the program since March 24. If enough people apply, the first group of applicants is expected to receive the required training between April and June before starting work as early as June.