A Study on the Actual Working Conditions and Organization of Household Workers and Care-workers in Korea

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K04182
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Kwansei Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: YOKOTA Nobuko 関西学院大学, 社会学部, 教授 (60274148)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 韓国における家事・介護労働者 / ケアワーカーの労働・生活実態 / ケアワーカーの組織化 / プレカリアスな労働者 / 労働者権の否定 / 新しい社会運動

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In globalization since the late 1990s, deregulation policy of the labor has been extensively developed, resulting in rapid progress in "non-standardization of labor" worldwide. It has rapidly increased the number of precarious non-standard workers, who have been excluded from the protection of labor law and social security systems and under precarious working conditions and employment. In South Korea with declining birthrate and aging population, that is especially remarkable for female household and care workers. Focusing on Korean female household and care workers, this study clarified their actual conditions of labor and life. In addition to it, they have developed their new social movement in order to organize them by themselves although it has been difficult to make their own trade union as they have been atomized and scattered, and have not been recognized as workers by labor law. This study clarified the characteristics of their new social movement, too.

Free Research Field

ジェンダー研究

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまで、韓国の家事・介護労働者の労働・生活実態について分析した研究は稀少であった。本研究は、韓国の家事・介護労働者の待遇改善や組織化を実現しようとする労働NPOを拠点にインタビュー調査や設問調査、さらに参与観察を行い、これらを明らかにした点において学術的意義を持つ。
また、本研究では、社会的脆弱階層としてプレカリアスな性格が強く、とくに労働者権を否定されているが故に、集団的労使関係を形成できない彼女たちの新たな組織化の方法として「社会的協同組合」を見出している。これは、増大し続けるプレカリアスな労働者を組織化する新しい社会運動を考察する上で重要な学術的、社会的示唆に富むものである。