외국인 가사노동자의 지위에 관한 소고 - 필리핀 가사관리사 시범사업 평가를 중심으로 -

Abstract

Foreign domestic workers have distinctive characteristics from the group that the primary groups targeted for protection by the Korean labor law. Domestic work has direct relations with our daily lives, is typically performed by women, and is often part-time or temporary in terms of its employment type. These characteristics make it stand apart from general foreign labor. The Seoul Metropolitan Government's pilot project to test out employing Filipino domestic workers served as a social and policy experiment to explore the potential for employing foreign domestic workers at the local government level. Although the pilot project confirmed a market demand for such labor, deficiencies in protecting foreign laborers sparked extensive debate from the project’s beginning to the end. The experience of employing foreign domestic workers in private households by coordinating and addressing complex challenges can be considered a significant outcome of the project. However, it will be necessary to establish a clearer policy direction regarding the employment of foreign domestic workers. While the project initially proposed the differentiated application of the minimum wage, it ultimately applied the minimum wage due to the lack of a legal basis for differentiation, the adoption of an agency-based domestic service provision model, and the granting of visa status via the employment permit system. In case a direct employment model, where individual households (end users) directly hire servants for their domestic work, is adopted, the overall costs would be reduced, but this would require transparent communication that such model could entail increased management burdens. The greatest limitation identified in the pilot project was its failure to significantly reduce the domestic and caregiving burdens on households due to cost concerns. It is therefore necessary to keep exploring ways to alleviate financial pressure on employing families, including support from the state or local governments. Along with the re-evaluation of housework or domestic labor, a plan needs to be developed to ensure the burden of housework and caregiving work is shared with society. Based on such a plan, a plan for using foreign domestic workers should be established. Foreign domestic workers can contribute to Korean society and economy. Acknowledging their legal status under the labor law, ensuring the level of protection stipulated under the current law, preventing unfair discrimination, and raising public awareness are basic obligations for a recipient country. Resolving the disputes and issues that emerged from the pilot project is expected to be the starting point for establishing the proper legal status of foreign domestic workers.