General Comment No. 4 of the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Committee ('The Right to Adequate Housing', 1991), housing is not just a place where you
can take shelter from the rain or just sleep, but a space where you can live with dignity, and
this right should be guaranteed to everyone regardless of income.
The International Labor Organization (ILO), in ‘Recommendation No. 115 for Workers'
Housing,’ stipulates that structural safety and an appropriate level of dignity, hygiene and
convenience should be guaranteed in providing housing to workers. Workers living in
employer-owned and controlled spaces have fewer opportunities for integration into the
local community and tend to be more dependent on their employers, so it is generally
undesirable for employers to provide direct housing to workers.
Some evaluate that many legal and practical improvements have been made in the housing
conditions of migrant workers in the agricultural sector, as compared to the past. However,
migrant workers who have language limitations and lack of human networks, especially the
migrant workers under the employment permit system who are restricted in their freedom to
choose and change workplaces, are forced to use temporary buildings installed by their
employers near the work sites, such as farmland, as accommodation. Moreover, various
surveys confirm that even if the facility is at a level that threatens health and safety, there are
still cases where a demand for improvement cannot be made to the employer or a demand,
even if made, is ignored.
The human rights of foreigners must be guaranteed at the minimum, and human rights
violations must be resolved quickly. Moreover, considering diverse circumstances of the
agricultural sector, the public support, such as the state and local governments, as well as
business owners' organizations, is necessary to solve the poor housing conditions of migrant
workers. In order to improve the poor living conditions of migrant workers so that they can
lead a safe and dignified life, legal and practical measures need to be implemented, such as
the establishment of public dormitories, prohibition of advanced deduction for
accommodation expenses, and abolishment of wage-linked accommodation expenses
calculation guidelines.
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