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Global: IDWF - Winner of the South Korean TJI HAKSOON JUSTICE & PEACE AWARD 2017

Global: IDWF - Winner of the South Korean TJI HAKSOON JUSTICE & PEACE AWARD 2017

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by IDWFED published Apr 25, 2017 12:00 AM
IDWF won the 20th TJI HAKSOON Justice & Peace Award, by THE BISHOP TJI HAKSOON JUSTICE & PEACE FOUNDATION based in S. Korea. IDWF was awarded in recognition of its work to promote Domestic Workers’ right over the world.

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IDWF - Winner of the South Korean TJI HAKSOON JUSTICE & PEACE AWARD 2017


IDWF won the 20th TJI HAKSOON Justice & Peace Award, by THE BISHOP TJI HAKSOON JUSTICE & PEACE FOUNDATION based in S. Korea. IDWF was awarded in recognition of its work to promote Domestic Workers’ right over the world.

The TJI HAKSOON Justice & Peace Award was established in 1997 to honor the deceased bishop TJI HAKSOON who devoted his life to justice and peace in Korea. It is awarded annually to individuals or organizations dedicated to justice, peace, and human rights.

A delegation of IDWF went to S. Korea from March 13 to March 17 in order to receive the Award consisting  Myrtle Witbooi, the President, Phobsuk Gasing, titular member (Asia) of the IDWF executive committee, and Peng, the (acting) Regional Coordinator for Asia.  In addition, they participated in other activities including media interviews and a discussion meeting with National House Managers Cooperative, an affiliate of IDWF in S. Korea.

The award ceremony is held in Seoul on March 14 2017. Not only members of the Foundation but also many of organizations working around labor issues, women issues, and human right issues attended. It was noted that in S. Korea, domestic workers are not entitled to legal rights as other workers.

Myrtle commented on the domestic workers situation in Korea, especially on that fact that there is no legal provision to protect domestic workers at her Award-receiving speech, and requested the audience to think what they can do in order to uphold domestic workers rights.

"The message I would like to convey to you here is that I did not know that there was no labor law provision for domestic workers in Korea until I came to Korea for the first time. I did not know that the rights of domestic workers in Korea are not recognized and respected. You can be proud of the fact that you are here today, and I am proud of your achievements. But I want you to go home and think about what you can do for your domestic workers' rights after tonight."

On March 15, IDWF delegation attended a discussion meeting with domestic workers in S. Korea.  Myrtle Witbooi and Phobsuk Gasing presented their persistent struggles to promote domestic workers rights including legal framework in their respective countries. The meeting room was full of participants, most of them were domestic workers. They expressed that they were inspired and cheered up by the sharing from IDWF leaders. It was a fruitful opportunity to share their success and hardship and to build a sense of sisterhood between IDWF leadership and members of the affiliate.

IDWF delegation also made a visit to Korean Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU) to request solidarity and concrete support for domestic workers. Leaders of KCTU signed My Fair Home pledge and promised to support further in the My Fair Home campaign.

Many of Korean media reported the IDWF as the winner of the 20th TJI HAKSOON JUSTICE & PEACE AWARD, criticized on the reality of domestic workers in Korea that excluded domestic workers from legal rights and highlighted the recommendation of National Human Rights Commission of Korea, which came out in 2017 January that the Labor standard Act must be amended to protect DWs as workers and the Ministry of Employment and Labor must develop standardized contract for DWs. 

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Being a winner of the TJI HAKSOON JUSTICE & PEACE AWARD, the IDWF is able to arouse awareness and social attention on domestic workers and to call on government to take action to ensure domestic workers’ rights in S. Korea.

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Source: Global: Domestic workers - The 20th Justice and Peace Award Winner

Story Type: News

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