Migrant workers struggle to afford quarantine facilities

Posted on : 2020-04-29 15:58 KST Modified on : 2020-04-29 15:58 KST
Barred from company dormitories, many wander around looking for accommodations
Migrant workers from Cambodian at a greenhouse in Gyeonggi Province. (Hankyoreh archives)
Migrant workers from Cambodian at a greenhouse in Gyeonggi Province. (Hankyoreh archives)

These days, sleep hasn’t come easy for Sseombat (pseudonym, 26), a migrant laborer from Cambodia who works on a farm in Gyeonggi Province. Since returning to South Korea from a vacation in her home of Cambodia on Apr. 18, she’s been self-quarantining in a residential facility arranged by her local government, which costs 100,000 won (US$82) a night. On Apr. 14, the South Korean government made self-quarantine mandatory for everyone entering the country.

After learning about the new rule shortly before his return, Sseombat asked her boss on the farm to extend his vacation, but that request was turned down. Even though there was ample space in the farm’s dormitory, the owner wouldn’t allow Sseombat to stay there, out of fear that she might infect the other workers. Fortunately, the local government covered half the cost, bringing Sseombat’s bill for 14 days of lodging down to 700,000 won (US$575). But that’s still half of her monthly wages of 1.4 million won (US$1,150).

Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the South Korean government is requiring everyone who arrives from overseas to spend 14 days in self-quarantine. But migrant workers returning from other countries often don’t have a decent place to quarantine, prompting urgent calls for the government to take action.

According to data provided by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), there were 267,000 foreigners in the country on the non-professional employment visa (E-9) as of March, 42,000 of whom had entered the country between January and March, after the coronavirus outbreak began. Adding in other employment visas, an estimated 60,000 migrant workers have entered the country since February.

Under the government’s regulations, travelers and others who arrive in Korea for a short-term stay (of 90 days or less) are supposed to be housed in a government quarantine facility, while those on a long-term stay (of at least 91 days), including migrant workers, are allowed to quarantine themselves.

But the majority of migrant workers live in company dormitories, and if their employer doesn’t allow them to self-quarantine in the dormitory, they have little choice but to head to a quarantine facility. The central government has put the financial burden for managing these facilities on local governments, which are only able to give migrant workers partial assistance from limited resources. This forces migrant workers, through no fault of their own, to scrape together money to cover the fees at these facilities.

Private shelters maintained by donations often full

As a result, migrant worker shelters are reporting a steady stream of workers asking for help. Another migrant worker from Cambodia (a 25-year-old employed at a factory in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province) dropped by a migrant worker shelter nearby when his company blocked him from its dormitory after he entered the country on Apr. 13. Fortunately, the shelter had a spare room where he could self-quarantine, instead of going to one of the expensive facilities.

But there are just a handful of shelters in the country, all maintained by private donations, and they’re already at full capacity. Most of the shelters have sent home industrial accident victims who could handle out-patient care and filled their spots with returnees under quarantine.

“Since February, all five of the foreigners who were quarantined at shelters in South Gyeongsang Province since February had been banned from staying at their company or university dormitories. It’s extremely rare for people to be put up at shelters because of space restrictions. Most people are crashing at friends’ houses,” said Koh Seong-hyeon, secretary-general of a migrant worker welfare center in South Gyeongsang Province.

Forcing migrant workers to roam around looking for a place to quarantine themselves carries the risk of creating clusters of COVID-19 cases, especially since these workers are less likely to seek help at hospitals or community health centers.

“Since migrant workers on the employment permit system have entered the country under the auspices of the government, either the government or their employers should take responsibility for quarantining them,” said Park Yeong-a, an attorney with Gonggam Human Rights Law Foundation.

By Kang Jae-gu, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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