School cafeteria workers slam People's Party lawmaker

Do Eul-sun, a school cafeteria worker, sheds tears while speaking in a press briefing at the National Assembly to demand Rep. Lee Un-ju of the People's Party apologize and resign over her earlier remark that degraded such workers, Thursday. / Yonhap

By Kim Rahn

Rep. Lee Un-ju

A group of female school cafeteria employees called on the minor opposition People’s Party, Thursday, to expel Rep. Lee Un-ju, the party’s deputy floor leader, over her earlier remarks disparaging them.

The non-regular workers, mainly cooks at school cafeterias, demanded Lee apologize and retire from politics, saying her misogynist remarks seriously damaged female workers’ human rights and their right to work.

The protest follows a media report last week about non-regular workers who went on a two-day strike to demand a change in their status to regular positions. Lee called the striking workers “lunatics.”

Especially about female employees who cook at school cafeterias, she said they are just “ajumma,” a Korean term referring to married middle-aged women, a term often used to degrade such women. “Just a few years ago, some ajummas in the neighborhood could get the job after receiving only several hours of education,” Lee said. “Why should ajummas who do the cooking become regular workers?”

Lee apologized Tuesday but the protesters said her apology was not sincere.

“While its vice floor leader (Lee) made these degrading remarks, the People’s Party has neither apologized, nor come up with measures to prevent such instances from recurring,” they said in a press briefing at the National Assembly.

They said children’s rights to get quality school meals and the workers’ rights to be properly paid are not competing rights and both should be guaranteed. “While lawmakers should make efforts to guarantee both rights, Lee said the workers’ salary, if they become regular employees, will lower the quality of children’s meals.”

The protesters said women’s labor has not been recognized for a long time although they provide care services at home and at local communities without pay. “Now we’ve just begun to claim fair rewards for women’s labor, and with what criteria does Lee grade women’s labor, which is more unskilled work and which work deserves lower pay?”

Do Eul-sun, a participant in the protest, said school cafeteria workers work their hearts out in the hot kitchens as they believe they take care of children’s health. “Why can’t we have better working conditions? Why can’t we have stable jobs? With better working conditions and job stability, we can provide better services to children and teachers,” she said, shedding tears.

On an online portal, more than 24,000 people signed up to demand Lee make a proper apology for her remarks and resign as a lawmaker.