On July 15 and July 30, two engineering accidents occurred in Seoul, South Korea, resulting in five Chinese workers killed and one Chinese worker seriously injured.
In recent years, China’s overseas laborers have repeatedly lost their lives in the country. Chinese pickpoons in Morecambe Bay in the UK have died of tragic deaths. Chinese workers have been killed in Afghanistan and illegal gold rushes have crashed in Ghana. There are currently 6.62 million Chinese who have used legal methods to work overseas. There are even more countless "black workers." They went for the simple purpose of earning money, but they encountered the predicament of “difficulty in protecting one’s life and defending their rightsâ€.
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Nearly 600,000 Chinese have suffered from work-related injuries in Korea
“Why is it Chinese again?†The news of the accident of the Huanhua Bridge has caused an uproar on the Internet, and netizens expressed their sympathy and admiration for Chinese overseas workers.
The casualties of Chinese laborers in Korea have occurred in real time. However, the two recent accidents belong to the municipal engineering of Seoul, so the impact is large.
According to Guo Zaishu, director of the Korea Immigration Compatriots Development Institute, the reasons for the large number of casualties in the recent accidents can be attributed to two points: First, there are many workers. Between 500,000 and 600,000 Chinese workers account for most of the foreign workers in South Korea.
Second, many people work in dangerous jobs. Most Chinese laborers can only find jobs that Koreans are not willing to do. These jobs generally do not require professional skills, qualifications, qualifications, and foreign language skills.
In Korea, construction workers are among the hardest jobs, but their income is relatively higher. Excluding daily expenses such as rent and meals, a construction worker can earn 2 million won per month, which is equivalent to nearly 12,000 yuan. In order to earn money, even if it is bitter and dirty, many Chinese are still willing to leave their homes to work overseas.
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6.62 Million Lawful Overseas Gold Rush "Black Labor" is Hard to Count
The reporter learned from the Department of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce that as of the end of 2012, China’s foreign labor service cooperation had sent a total of 6.39 million laborers. In the first half of 2013, there were 226,000 people, a total of nearly 6.62 million.
The above is the number of labor exported through legal channels, and it is difficult to count the number of “black workers†going out through snakeheads and black intermediaries. It is such a large group that seems to have become a forgotten "invisible person."
Difficulties in life's dignity are referred to as "treatment worse than dog"
Every Chinese overseas laborer has a big pot of water. The most serious problem is personal injury and accidental danger. For example, in Japan and South Korea, some local companies use the "trainee system" to introduce illegal foreign workers in disguised form, and perform brutal crushing and servitude.
In Russia, foreign workers in China often become the targets of local skinheads, and they are even subjected to discriminatory treatment by the police. In 2011, there were Russian media reports that the treatment of Chinese workers was "not even worse than dogs." A local worker uploaded a video showing that a group of Chinese workers had been beaten by security guards on the construction site. The fighters not only punched and kicked but also used batons.
In Africa, Chinese workers are sometimes exposed to kidnappings and war threats. In the Niger Delta, Chinese oil workers have been abducted on many occasions; in the mining regions of Central and Eastern Africa, “suspense†is the general mood of Chinese workers.
The reason is that Chinese products and labor have an impact on the local job market, causing dissatisfaction in the host country's society. If this dissatisfaction is provoked and stimulated by racists, it may lead to violent conflicts.
In the “very area†where national conflicts are fierce, many multinational corporations prefer to abandon their projects rather than take risks. However, some Chinese companies are desperate to “take people out of me†to ignore the personal safety of Chinese laborers.
Rights Protection Vacuum Income Welfare Listening to Heaven
Overseas workers have the simplest purpose: to earn money. However, the phenomenon of deliberate deductions or arrears of wages by overseas employers has occurred from time to time.
There are almost no exceptions for agencies or labor companies to collect “margin funds†from foreign laborers. The amount is from 20,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan, and they have gone up to nearly 100,000 yuan. In order to prevent these laborers from going abroad, they “don’t take careâ€. The intermediary and labor service companies may either charge fees in advance or force them to withdraw their wages. As a result, once the overseas employers have owed their salaries, the intermediary and labor service companies have no losses, and foreign workers have suffered huge losses.
The hardships of work do not make them afraid. What disturbs them most is that the rights and interests of labor are not guaranteed. In the areas of minimum wage, medical treatment, leave, welfare, etc., the employer’s "conscience" is entirely upheld. In the event of illness, work-related injuries, or labor disputes, overseas workers, especially "black workers," are often in a very helpless situation.
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Overseas employers’ service companies can be blamed
How is the protection of personal safety and labor rights of Chinese laborers overseas? The reporter interviewed Li Lingyun, an expert in labor law and associate professor at East China University of Political Science and Law.
She said that in recent years, China’s labor service cooperation with foreign countries has become more and more frequent, and incidents of infringement of labor rights have also increased. In 2012, the State issued the Regulations on the Administration of Foreign Labor Cooperation, which “who is responsible for the infringement of labor rightsâ€. , what's the responsibility? The rules are very clear.
As far as the protection of labor rights is concerned, foreign employers and laborers' contracts will stipulate issues such as working hours, work place, working conditions, labor remuneration, social insurance, and whether there will be economic compensation after the contract is terminated. You should find a foreign employer with a labor relationship."
If a foreign employer refuses to pay compensation, or if the laborer exhausts legal means and is still not enough to compensate for the loss, he can seek compensation from domestic and foreign labor service companies.
When both of them refuse to pay compensation, the "Regulations" have specially established a reserve fund system to provide gold for companies engaged in foreign labor service cooperation. Once both parties push forward, qualified laborers can receive a backup fund.
She pointed out that the government should also form an institutional contingency plan and cannot discuss everything one by one.
As for “black labor,†she believes that the law does not allow working abroad in the name of visiting relatives, traveling, and learning. The group itself has no legal status and the law cannot cover them.
Chinese workers are hard to enjoy equal pay for equal work
Recently, in order to boost the employment rate, some European countries have put forward the slogan that “regardless of nationality, they should provide equal pay if they provide equal value.†However, Professor Li said that the slogan will not benefit Chinese laborers.
"The degree of European integration is relatively high. It is very natural for them to grow and grow in one country and then to work in another country. In addition, Europe has established a coordination mechanism on social security, making people When changing their place of work, the standards of social security will not be reduced, but it is obviously impossible for Chinese workers to enjoy the same system—the other reason is to provide these positions to the Chinese precisely because the Chinese can use lower costs. Make a great achievement."
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