Justice for Dien

That's what faced Dien, a man who lacked the vital political connections in his native Vietnam to secure a job in mechanical engineering after completing his studies.

Dien, raised in a Catholic family of seven children, settled for work in a shoe factory in the distant city of Saigon. Disenchantment soon set in when he faced the daily drudgery inherent in this type of work. He had heard stories of other Vietnamese who ventured overseas to search for a decent standard of living.

He contacted friends and relatives of these overseas' workers and made plans for himself.

Dien made a connection with a Vietnamese broker company to find a job in Korea, but was taken aback by its exorbitant recruitment fee: 4,500 U.S. dollars. He negotiated the fee to $3,500, but since the average monthly industrial wage in Vietnam is $50, he put his dream of working in Korea on hold. In June 1998, two years later, he finally arrived in Korea.

GRUELING WORK, UNPAID WAGES
Before his arrival, Dien signed a three-year contract to work in a Korean garment factory. But like so many other "industrial trainees," he didn't last long-only four months.

The contract gave no indication of the harsh working conditions he had to endure. The contract obligated Dien to work an eight-hour day Monday through Friday and four hours on Saturday. Instead, he worked long overtime hours during the week, all of which he was not paid for, and he worked on some weekends without any pay at all.

The Vietnamese Embassy advised Dien to write complaint letters, which proved futile. Company visits by an embassy official were also in vain.

After four months, he had to escape.

Dien traveled to Seoul, and soon met others from Vietnam. Through his connections with them, he worked the next six months for three sewing factories.

The first factory paid Dien $550 per month for a 12-hour day with no holidays. He also regularly worked Sundays with no pay. After 15 days, the company boss wanted to cut his pay to $500 a month, saying he was lazy and not working fast enough.

After receiving $100 in salary, Dien moved on to pursue his seemingly forlorn hope for a good job with half-decent conditions. Meanwhile, the debts he left behind to come to Korea became a constant noose around his neck.

The second factory was more of the same: the employer reneging on an agreed salary and demanding Sunday work with no pay.

VALIDATION THROUGH THE COURTS
Dien's Korean dream was fast turning into a nightmare. He had the added frustation of not being able to send money home to support his school-age brothers and sisters. Determined not to give up, he 'began work in a plastics company in Eui-jeongbu.

Soon after, I met Dien, and his case was the first that Migrant Workers' Counseling Services took on in September 2000.

The plastics company was no different than the others but after hearing about our counseling office, Dien approached us with the hope that we could recoup his unpaid wages.

After repeated attempts at negotiating a settlement with his employer, we filed an arbitration case with the labor office in the Eui-jeongbu district. The employer failed to appear for the first hearing, claiming it was bankrupt. It seemed Dien's misfortune would continue.

However, we had evidence that the plastics factory was still operating and had the wherewithal to pay Dien his hard-earned two months salary of $1,200.

Thanks to the persistent efforts by labor officials, the employer eventually turned up for the hearing.

Three months after reporting the case to us, Dien received the amount he was due in full.

We were happy to be in the right place at the right time for Dien, and his determination has inspired us. Since Dien was our first worker we helped, we have a special affection for him, and he has taught us much.

I continue to meet with Dien and other Vietnamese friends at our monthly Vietnamese liturgical celebration in the Columban house in Seoul.

Fr. Nguyen Van Hung, a Vietnamese Columban Father working in Taiwan, started the monthly liturgy some months back and was eager for me to keep it going.

I still struggle reading the Mass in Vietnamese, but I am able to keep in touch with members of the Vietnamese community in Seoul. I am happy to report that Dien's run of misfortune is over, and he has had no problems in his present workplace.

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