[imText1]While the EU currently undergoes an apprehensive investigation on forced labor of foreign workers dispatched from North Korea in Europe, a worker in Poland claimed in an interview with the Japanese press “It seems like we are celebrating a birthday party every day.” Hence, it looks as if North Korean authorities are trying to control the speech of foreign workers in a positive way.
A Japanese newspaper Mainichi reported on the 2nd, an interview with a supervisor of North Korean laborers working as welders at a dockside in Gdansk, Poland.
According to the newspaper, the supervisor revealed “A 15 year old only son and wife are waiting back in his own country. Even though he wants to bring his family here, he cannot lease an apartment for his family with his wage. Also, if he thinks about his son’s education, he cannot leave his job.” Apparently, news is exchanged through letters.
He said in his fluent Polish “I can eat anything, I can even drink beer. It seems like we are celebrating a birthday party every day.” It was said that he smiled as he mentioned how the North Korean embassy in Poland’s capital city, Warsaw even sent kimchi twice a month.
North Korean laborers began to work at the docks in 2003. At the time, there were only 9 workers, but since last summer and as of October, the number of workers steadily increased and now there are 28 welders working amongst Polish laborers.
The workers live together in the city at an apartment block facilitated with a pool table, ping pong table and game room, and commute to work in a mini bus driven by the supervisor.
Though the European Parliament is conducting an apprehensive investigation on North Korean laborers forced to work in foreign countries, the workers say “We are satisfied with our current lifestyle.” The dockside said “They are hard-workers” and revealed a desire to bring more North Korean workers.
The workers were dispatched after a recruiting company made a contract with a national consulting company based in Pyongyang. The entrepreneur of the company said “On average the worker’s monthly wage is 4,000 zloty (approx. US$1400). The money is wired directly to the North Korean company.”
He added “After deductions such as rent, living and food, the actual wage distributed to the laborer is 1,200~1,500 zloty (approx. US$420~$526).” In the end, the monthly wage the North Korea laborer receives is less than half.”
An Assistant director of the docks said “We are more than satisfied with skilled workers.” He explained “After Poland joined the E.U. in May 2004, more and more skilled laborers have been going to Germany or Norway where the wage is 4 times higher. Hence, we are recruiting workers not only from North Korea but Ukraine and China.”
Under suspicions that wages of North Korean laborers were being extracted by authorities, an investigation based on working regulations in Gdansk was started at the beginning of this year. The investigator of this report said “The minimum monthly wage in Poland is 900 zloty (approx. US$315). So, legally there is no problem.”
The newspaper reported that the investigation only confirmed that the papers by the North Korean national enterprise was in Korean and signed by the laborers themselves. Regarding this, the regulators said “We have no authority in verifying the validity of the papers, nor do we have any authority to check the contract” and articulated the limitations to the investigation.
The European Parliament is known to have begun an investigation on each European country to gather information on the wages of hundreds of North Korean laborers and its use by North Korean authorities.
According to the European Parliament’s Minister of Foreign Affairs István Szent-Iványi (affiliate to North Korea’s assistant minister) there are 400 North Korean workers living in Czechoslovakia, who are basically women working in 3 different sewing factories located in the outskirts of Czech’s capital Prague.
Minister criticized “The laborers are regulated by North Korean officials and are no different to slaves in inhumane conditions.”
