Migrant workers benefit from free interpretation and counseling
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It has been a little more than year since the Korea International Labor Foundation (KOILAF) Interpretation Service Center began helping foreign migrant workers in Korea who face difficulties due to language barriers.
The KOILAF Interpretation Service Center has been helping foreign workers to understand Korea better, including labor-related legal issues and cultural understanding, by providing language assistance service in seven languages -- English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Russian, Indonesian and Thai. (1577-0177)The KOILAF offers free counseling for labor-related issues such as wages, change of workplace, labor contracts, industrial safety and accident compensation and issues related to living in Korea -- entry and departure, medical services, remittances, laws and regulations. And in a recent survey by the center, 95 percent of respondents said they are satisfied with the interpretation service.
Over the one-year period, the center received an average of 170 calls per day from foreign workers in Korea, especially Vietnamese and Mongolians. Labor-related issues are the most frequently asked questions taking up 46 percent of all the questions asked. The next most commonly asked questions are about personal problems foreign workers face in their daily lives
Respondents said they also found the KOILAF's three-way simultaneous interpretation service useful, which was designed to help resolve difficulties in communication between migrant workers, employers or related organizations and to facilitate the foreigners' adaptation to life in Korea.
For minor cases, the KOILAF also provides insider counseling. In more serious cases, the agency refers the workers to the appropriate government bodies, including the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor or other related institutions that can give more useful advice.
The good reviews have the center planning to extend its service one hour at night and on the weekends and considering offering help in more languages For now, Foreigners in need of the KOILAF's free interpreting or counseling services can
contact (02) 1577-0177 from Monday to Friday (9 a.m.–6 p.m.) or
visit http://www.koilaf.org/interpreter/en.html for more information.The source of news : Korea.net June 21, 2007
