As Noonsong was on her way to school, she saw a group of female cleaning workers holding signs and protesting for an increase in meal allowances at the front gate. One worker shouted, claiming the right to a proper meal for cleaning workers, saying, "We deserve better treatment." Seeing the protest made her aware of the work and difficult conditions of cleaning workers that she hadn't known much about before, and she became interested and thoughtful about their treatment.
 

 

Stories behind female cleaners

Cleaning workers perform their duties in various locations. They are often employed by cleaning service companies or as indirectly employed temporary workers. Indirect employment is a form of employment in which the worker and employer do not directly enter into a labor contract but go through a third party. According to the "Gwangju Apartment Cleaning Workers Monitoring Report" released by the Gwangju Non-Regular Workers Support Center in 2020, 82.6% of the 207 cleaning workers in Gwangju's apartments were indirectly employed through service company contracts. This shows that the employment of cleaning workers is more likely to be indirect. This indirect employment offers employers the benefits of cost savings and simplified management because the service provider takes a commission, it also presents some issues. Due to the involvement of a third-party service provider, indirect employment prohibits cleaners from bargaining with their employers, limiting their ability to unionize and preventing them from fully exercising their rights in the face of harassment and other injustices in the workplace. Ha Tae-seung, a lawyer from the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, stated that “Subcontractors often lack actual decision-making power, meaning that the labor rights of indirectly employed workers are not effectively realized."¹⁾ This means that indirectly employed workers have difficulty negotiating with their employers, and since subcontractors have no decision-making authority, they fail to convey the workers' demands. As such, cleaning workers face struggles in protecting their rights due to the limitations of indirect employment.
Indirect employment constraining cleaners' rights presents an additional problem due to the high percentage of female cleaners. According to the "2020 Regional Employment Survey" published by the National Statistical Office in 2021, out of 1,107,000 cleaning and sanitation workers, 754,000, representing 68.1%, were women. Furthermore, 89% of simple labor workers in cleaning and security jobs were over 50 years old. This indicates that middle-aged women are predominantly represented in cleaning jobs and face difficulties. A female cleaning worker who has been in the industry since 2008 shared, "I work here because I have to make a living. What else can mothers do?"²⁾ This shows middle-aged women, facing career breaks due to childcare and domestic responsibilities, often have no choice but to take cleaning jobs that require no specialized skills. Additionally, many older women,needing to support their families as their children face delays in finding employment, are forced to accept low wages and have no choice but to take these jobs. This increase in middle-aged women's participation in cleaning work indicates that career interruptions due to childbirth and childcare limit employment opportunities for middle-aged women. The difficulties that cleaning workers face in securing their rights within indirect employment structures place additional burdens on middle-aged women workers, including reduced job security, and highlight the precarious employment conditions they face.
 

 

Tears in the dust

Middle-aged women in cleaning roles find themselves managing a complex situation shaped by the indirect employment structure that contributes to a low-wage system, as many cleaning workers are employed by subcontracting companies, resulting in lower pay compared to directly hired permanent employees. This happens because the subcontractor acting as an intermediary takes a portion of the wage as a commission, reducing the salary the cleaning worker receives. Also female cleaning workers earn less per hour than their male counterparts, even among irregular workers. According to the "2021 Employment Type Survey" published by the Ministry of Employment and Labor in 2024, women cleaning workers' hourly wage is 18,502 won, 28.9% lower than men's hourly wage of 26,042 won. This suggests that the higher male hourly wage than female also reflects discrimination due to the gender pay gap. In addition, the 2,700 won per meal provided to cleaning workers is less than the minimum price of 3,323 won for a roll of kimbap in Seoul, according to the Korea Consumer Affairs Ministry's price information portal. Yoon Hwa-ja, a female cleaning worker at Chung-Ang University, said, "It costs 5,500 won to eat at the student cafeteria and 10,000 won to go out and buy food, making it difficult to afford every meal. As a result, some people pack a lunch or skip meals."³⁾ This highlights the financial strain on female cleaning workers, forcing them to rely on homemade meals instead of being able to afford lunch with the inadequate meal allowance provided. It seems that the majority of cleaning workers are women, and the pay disparities caused by indirect employment, combined with gender-based wage discrimination, create challenging conditions for female cleaning workers.
Female cleaning workers also face challenges when it comes to working conditions that affect their health and safety. One of the problems they face is working in poor conditions with no rest areas. Byun In-sun, a cleaning worker at a middle school in Incheon, said, "There is no space for cleaning workers to rest comfortably anywhere in the school. Most of the time, we squat under the stairs or in the storeroom, which smells of mold and has no air conditioning or heating, and take a break, not a rest."⁴⁾ This means that the right to rest is not being fulfilled because there are no rest areas provided for cleaning workers at their workplaces. In addition, unsecured and isolated break rooms put female cleaners at risk of being exposed to various crimes. In 2021, a 64-year-old female cleaning worker at Sinjeongnegeori Station was sexually assaulted by a 65-year-old male supervisor who suddenly entered the break area. The break room for female workers at the station was physically locked, but it was not restricted by gender, so male employees could still enter it. This shows that closed indoor spaces that are not segregated from other genders can expose female cleaners to sexual offenses, threatening their safety. These issues of indirect employment and unsuitable break rooms highlight the low wages and poor working conditions faced by female cleaners and suggest that systemic improvements are needed to ensure their rights and safety.
 

 

Efforts to wipe the dirt off

Various initiatives have been implemented by the government and private organizations to ensure the working conditions of female cleaners. On August 18, 2022, the government made the provision of rest facilities mandatory under the existing Occupational Safety and Health Act, having previously been optional for employers. According to the law, workplaces with 20 or more workers at any given time must install rest facilities, and the size, location, and temperature have to be managed according to the standards set by the law. In addition, the Labor Welfare Sharing Center, a corporation that promotes policy development projects related to the improvement of workers' welfare, has implemented the "Rest Space Improvement and Emotional Support Project for Female Cleaning Workers." The project offers services like equipment support, remodeling, and emotional support, including the chance to create handmade art for female cleaners facing difficult circumstances. Oh Young-ran, a female cleaner at Goyang Hyundai Apartment said, "I'm grateful to have a restroom where I can relax with this remodeling, including the electrical paneling and painting."⁵⁾ In other words, the project contributed to a better working environment for workers by improving rest facilities at workplaces that had not been identified by the government and local governments. It seems that the solutions being implemented by the government and private organizations that recognize the gaps in the working conditions of female cleaners need to be continued until all workplaces are improved.
There is also a movement to address the meal allowance, which increases the economic burden for female cleaners. The meal allowance, which has remained stagnant at 2,700 won for five years, since 2020, adds to their financial burden. In response, female cleaning workers at 13 universities in Seoul, including Yonsei University and Korea University, have been protesting with signs at the university presidents' offices since March, demanding an increase of at least 400 won per meal allowance. Na Hae-bin, a student at Korea University, said, "I think there is a problem with the meal allowance that does not take into account the rising cost of living. The university should take active measures to ensure the rights of its members."⁶⁾ This emphasizes that the university has the responsibility for ensuring cleaning workers have a stable meal and that university students are showing their support for the protests of female cleaning workers. In addition, students at each university have organized labor solidarity groups, which are collaborative groups of workers and students, and are planning programs to improve the treatment of female cleaning workers. Yonsei University's labor solidarity group held the "2024 Yonsei University Cleaning Workers' Struggle Explanation Meeting" to inform students about the issues of the protest and the poor working conditions of cleaning workers, and to answer questions from students. This means that university students recognize female cleaners as equal members of the school community and are actively working to improve their rights and treatment. The efforts of each institution to improve the working conditions of female cleaners are playing an important role in ensuring their rights and creating a stable working environment, and it seems that this movement needs to continue and expand.
 

 

From danger zone to safe zone

Cleaning workers are mostly middle-aged and older women and are often employed in indirect forms of employment, which limits their ability to exercise their labor rights. In this situation, female cleaners are victimized by low wages and poor working conditions, such as inadequate rest facilities which threaten their safety. Recognizing the problem, the government and private organizations have proposed solutions and university students have organized labor solidarity groups to plan programs to improve the treatment of female cleaning workers. Along with these efforts, it seems that additional solutions which reflect the on-the-ground conditions of female cleaners are needed to address the ongoing challenges they face.

 

1) Cho Yeon-ju, "Stop Subcontracting to Scarecrows and Let the 'Real Boss' Principal Contractor Bargain with Indirectly Employed Workers, Fight to Revise Union Law in Full Swing", Labor & World, August 10, 2022

2) Jeong Sun-ah, ""Ensure the Right to Survival of 'Double Discrimination' Female Non-regular Workers" Incheon Labor Organization Voice", Kyeongin Daily, May 22, 2024

3) Ko Kyung-Joo, ""I Can't Even Eat Ramen in the Student Cafeteria This Way"...Life Talk of a University Cleaning Worker", The Hankyoreh, May 29, 2024

4) Gu Hyeon-mo, "Under Moldy Stairs or in Warehouses, 'Not a Break'", The Segye Times, October 13, 2021

5) Yoon Si-young, "Eating in the Middle of a Parking Lot... 'Cleaning Environment Improvement Urgent'", Goyang Newspaper, November 28, 2023

6) Ko Na-lin, "College Cleaning Worker on 2,700 Won Meal Bill for Five years... What to Eat", The Hankyoreh, April 28, 2024

 

Kim Youn Soyun / Reporter
smt.kysy@gmail.com
Han Kim Yeongju / Reporter
smt.hkyj@gmail.com