ExclusiveILO says Korea’s new foreign nanny program ‘contrary’ to its equality rules

Human rights activists hold a rally against a Seoul Metropolitan Government-led foreign nanny program near Seoul City Hall in central Seoul, April 2. Yonhap

Korea’s new foreign nanny program launched last month for residents in Seoul is not aligned with the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) equality principles, its representative said.

In a recent response to inquiries from The Korea Times about the program — through which holders of certain visas can gain employment here as domestic workers for less than the minimum wage — the ILO official said it would be in violation of multiple conventions that guarantee the right to equal treatment.

Among them is Article 6 of the ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention that ensures the right of domestic workers to enjoy fair terms of employment in the same way as those employed for other types of work, including the same minimum wage, the official said. The convention defines "domestic work" as work performed in or for a household or households.

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

For those using the service, it would be a more affordable version of a similar government-run project through which parents living in the city could hire Filipino caregivers. However, unlike that program, workers participating in the new scheme will not be subject to the Labor Standards Act, and thus are not entitled to the national minimum wage, as they would work under private contracts, city officials said.

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.”

Given that the law applies to citizens and noncitizens alike, it is deemed to be discriminatory against all domestic workers regardless of their nationality status, according to the ILO.

“Therefore the ‘foreign nanny’ programme … would be contrary to the equal remuneration guarantees contained in our instruments on both migrant and domestic work,” the ILO said.

The ILO representative said both of its principal migrant worker conventions ― Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) and Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143) ― as well as its related recommendations and other international laws such as the U.N. Convention on Migrant Workers, contain the principle of equal treatment.

“However, it must be noted that as the Republic of Korea has not ratified these conventions, it has no formal obligation to respect them,” the official said. “That being said, from an ILO perspective, all workers, including migrant and domestic workers, deserve equal treatment to uphold human rights, ensure fair labour practices and prevent exploitation. Equal pay and conditions foster social justice, reduce inequality and promote decent work for all, regardless of nationality or migration status.”