In 2008, Amnesty International researchers interviewed 'MR', a 27-year-old Filipino 34-year-old man working in South Korea. He described the conditions he faces as a migrant worker:

Our managers only swear at us – never at Koreans. We get yelled at when we make mistakes, but with Korean workers, they are just told what they did wrong. Once I accidentally bumped into my manager and made him drop some plastic bottles. They weren’t damaged, but he got so angry that he hit me on the head. I told him not to do that again. I’m tired because I work so much and then on top of that I’m subjected to constant verbal abuse and blame, and sometimes even physical abuse. These negative things affect me mentally and my work.

MR's situation is far from uncommon.

A recent report by Amnesty International shows that many of the estimated 500,000 low skilled migrant workers in South Korea continue to be treated as disposable labour.

For the report, Amnesty International interviewed more than 60 regular and irregular migrant workers, as well as staff from shelters, migrant centres and other non-governmental organisations, trade unionists, factory owners and managers, and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

The testimonials collected from these sources show that even though South Korea has legally recognised the rights of migrant workers for five years now, the current system has proved to be completely ineffective in ensuring that the rights of migrant workers are respected.

Both regular and irregular migrant workers face discrimination, and verbal and physical abuse in the workplace. They are required to work long hours and night shifts, many without overtime pay, and often have their wages withheld. On average, they are paid less than South Korean workers in similar jobs and are at greater risk of industrial accidents with inadequate medical treatment or compensation.

Lee Jong-ran, a certified public labour lawyer, who represents migrant workers in labour disputes, told Amnesty International that:

Migrant workers can’t speak Korean and there are no interpreters at many of the workplaces. So, employers don’t bother offering training. Compared to Korean workers, work conditions for migrant workers are much worse. For example when working with chemicals, migrant workers often work without safety equipment and in poorly ventilated factories. A South Korean worker in that situation would either refuse to work under those conditions or complain to have the situation changed.

Upon arrival in South Korea, migrant workers often discover that their salary is lower, hours are longer and/or work is more dangerous than what their employer or employment broker had stipulated.

'JA', a 39-year-old Filipino woman, was told by her promoter in the Philippines that she would be working as a singer in South Korea but found a very different job awaiting her:

All I did was talk to customers - American soldiers – and get them to buy me drinks. I was forced to fill a drinks quota. That was my job. Upstairs there were rooms with beds where customers could have sex with the bar girls. The club owner tried to force me to have sex with the customers by threatening to send me back to the Philippines but I refused and told him that I would rather go back home.

Like JA, many low skilled migrant workers are tied to their employer and face restrictions in changing jobs. Migrant workers on the most common three year working visa must have their contract signed each year, and need their employer’s permission to leave and find another job. In many cases employees keeps their workers’ passport and documentation, making them even more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

The inability to change jobs freely prevents migrant workers from complaining about work place abuse, withheld pay or sexual harassment.

Basically, employers and managers are able to exploit migrant workers without fear of reprisal. They are fully aware that the government will not intervene, especially since there aren’t any effective complaints or judicial mechanism in place to address the abuse of migrant worker.

So for many migrant workers in South Korea who have suffered abuse at the hands of their employers, their only options are to a) just put up with it and accept, for example, constant sexual advances by their boss; b) become an irregular migrant worker and risk detention; or c) give up and go home.

For the thousands of workers who have used up all their family's savings to get to South Korea, returning home is not an option, and unless the South Korean Government makes some significant changes to the migrant worker system, thousands will continue to be forced into situations of severe exploitation.

Take action and tell the South Korean Government to protect the human rights of the 500,000 migrant workers currently in its territory.

For more information, read the report