It has been pointed out that the Youth Tomorrow Chaeum Mutual Aid Program, which provides 12 million won for young people with two years of service, is being abused to help young people find employment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Some employers abuse the fact that workers can’t quit in the middle of their two-year service to complete their two-year service, and they commit abusive language or sexual harassment. This means that youth support projects have become ‘shackles of Gapjil’.
On the 26th, Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea and Workplace Gapjil 119 published the ‘Youth Tomorrow Chaeum Mutual Gapjil Report’.
The Mutual Aid Program is a system that allows young people who have been newly employed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to work for two years or more and accumulate 3 million won to receive 12 million won by adding 3 million won to the company and 6 million won to the government. It was designed as a win-win system for both small and medium-sized enterprises and young people, and the government recently expanded the business further through the second supplementary budget, saying, “The percentage of employees with mutual aid subscribers is about 30 percentage points higher than that of non-subscribers.” However, it means that the condition of ‘serving for more than two years’ is being abused in such a way that ‘you can eat whatever you want for two years’.
According to the report, there were 479,336 subscribers to the mutual aid program for five years from July 2016, and 112,090 (23.4%) of them had dropped out prematurely. With such a high churn rate, Gapjil 119 argued, “It is highly probable that it is hard work that has no choice but to give up a large amount of money, or that it is Gapjil at work.”
Work Gapjil 119 said that it was receiving reports from actual mutual aid program subscribers that the two-year term of service acts as a ‘shackle’. Among the details of the report, “I have been subjected to all kinds of sexual harassment and abuse by the company representative for two years, such as ‘I have a good back’, but I can’t stop because of the deduction” has content.
For this reason, it is pointed out that it is necessary to change the application for deductions so that not only companies but also workers can apply. There is also the need to create an anonymous reporting window related to mutual aid projects. Labor supervision should also be strengthened and disadvantageous measures should be prepared for workplaces where problems such as workplace harassment are found. Jeon Eun-ju, a labor attorney, suggested, “We should first investigate the exact situation through surveys etc. targeting young people who have quit midway.”
Rep. Noh Ung-rae said, “This is a side effect of the policy that should be hopeful. We will find out the truth through a state audit and demand fundamental measures from the Ministry of Employment and Labor.”
Lee Jeong-eun reporter 4tmrw@hankookilbo.com
Issues you may be interested in
.
