December 31, 2008

South Korea limits number of temporary foreign workers

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

A plan to set a quota on foreign labourers to limit their share of work in temporary construction jobs has been announced by South Korea’s labour ministry.

The five-year plan includes upgrading employment conditions in Korean construction, improving training of construction workers and reducing the indiscriminate use of foreign workers, reports the JoongAng Daily.

“Construction firms tend to prefer foreign labourers to Korean labourers because of their cheaper labour cost,” said Kim Yu-jin, head of the ministry’s crisis management team. “When a quota is introduced, businesses are likely to fill vacant construction positions with domestic labourers.”

The size of the quota has not been decided. The dependence of construction businesses on foreign labourers, mostly ethnic Koreans from China, has surged recently.

According to the Korea Labor Institute, the number of foreign workers in the construction business during the first half of this year was 9.3 per cent, at 169,227.

Foreign workers made up just 4.1 per cent, at 75,962, in the second half of 2005.

Recent economic difficulties have led to a loss of 38,000 construction jobs since October 2007 and the number of construction orders fell 23.9 per cent in the same period.

However, the government predicts that the construction market is going to recover soon. Infrastructure projects, such as those planned for four major rivers, could raise the number of construction jobs to two million from the current level of 1.8 million, the ministry said.

Despite the surge of foreign labourers, the number of skilled workers is not keeping pace, as young people are reluctant to take construction jobs. According to the ministry, there is a shortage of 80,000 skilled workers.

The ministry intends to provide living expenses to those in vocational training. It is also considering paying subsidies to construction firms to help them employ interns.

The ministry will encourage construction firms to sign employment contracts with workers and to observe legal working hours. Most construction jobs are currently temporary.

JOC News Service

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