The party and government are pushing for a new two-year extension before full implementation in January next year. During the two-year new extension, they will make “all-out efforts” to establish a safety and health management system Around 80,000 workplaces will be selected to receive packages such as consultancy and human resources. Small businesses such as industrial complexes can appoint a joint safety officer.
The government, which is pushing for a two-year postponement of the extension of the serious injury punishment law to all companies with fewer than 50 employees, has decided to invest a budget of 1.5 trillion won for next year.
The government and the People Power Party held a party-government consultation meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 27th, and jointly prepared and announced “measures to support businesses in areas vulnerable to major disasters”, including the creation of a safety and health management system for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees from next year to 2025. .
The Serious Disaster Act was passed by the plenary session of the National Assembly on January 8, 2021 and came into force on January 27 last year. However, before full introduction, the application will be postponed for two years for small and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 50 employees and the law will apply from 27 January 2024.
However, industries such as the Korean Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises have called for an extension of the grace period due to a lack of preparation and manpower before the law’s implementation.
As a result, the government decided to push for a two-year postponement, but to focus all its efforts on establishing a safety and health management system for two years before implementation.
This measure includes 4 main areas and 10 tasks that have been requested by both workers and management and are needed on the ground, including government-level support projects and autonomous private sector projects. We expect to support a total of 1.5 trillion won next year by combining direct financial investments of 1.2 trillion won and indirect investment effects such as security management costs due to system reform.
The project will be implemented early starting from the first quarter of next year so that concrete results can be felt quickly on the ground.
In 2025, the plan is to continue expanding support through performance evaluation after next year’s system implementation.
The four main tasks are ▲building a comprehensive industrial safety diagnosis and support system ▲expanding safety and health management capabilities ▲supporting the improvement of workplace safety ▲creating a safety ecosystem industry led by the private sector.
First, a private joint promotion group will be formed in which ministries, public institutions, cooperatives and relevant organizations will participate. An “Industrial Safety Enhanced Diagnosis” will be conducted to self-diagnose the health and safety management system of approximately 837,000 workplaces with fewer than 50 employees (5 to 49 employees).
While such a comprehensive diagnosis is not mandatory, the plan is to actively support the inspection because a health and safety system must be established before the law comes into force.
Considering the characteristics of each company site, we will analyze the risk of major disasters and aim to support all workplaces, but we plan to select around 80,000 intensively managed workplaces and provide advice, manpower, equipment, etc. as a package.
Secondly, in order to quickly establish a workplace safety and health management system, service quality improvement and technical consultancy, training and guidance support will be extended to approximately 316,000, and Safety education programs for foreign workers, which have recently expanded significantly, will be established and strengthened.
In particular, a new “Joint Safety Management Expert Support Project” will be established to jointly appoint experts for small businesses that have difficulty appointing safety and health management experts. Furthermore, to address the shortage of professional manpower, the plan plans to train up to 20,000 professionals by 2026 by organizing professional training courses, establishing additional specialized industrial safety departments and easing qualification requirements for safety managers.
Third, support for the introduction of intelligent safety devices for more systematic safety management will also be expanded. We will also promote the discovery of industrial accident prevention models involving cooperation between ministries and agencies, such as “Smart Factory + Smart Safety”.
Finally, in order to create an industrial security ecosystem led by the private sector rather than the government, small and medium-sized enterprises such as private associations and organizations will prepare self-rescue measures and support the creation of an integrated security management system for complexes industrial with a high concentration of small businesses.
Furthermore, in order to bridge the gap between prime and subcontractors, large prime contractors strengthen “beneficial safety and health cooperation” with subcontractors and actively provide incentives to this end. Currently, POSCO, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hyundai Motor Company are implementing it, and the government plans to cover 50% of the costs incurred by large companies in promoting win-win cooperation projects.
Furthermore, we plan to globally reorganize and manage support projects that have been promoted in a segmented and sporadic manner. In particular, we will focus on promoting prevention skills in foreign workers, old industrial complexes and subcontractors, which have been highlighted as safety blind spots by workers, management and expert groups.
Meanwhile, the government drew a line when asked whether the preparation of such measures was in accordance with the so-called “three main requirements” of the Democratic Party of Korea.
Ki-ryong Kang, director of the Economic Structural Reform Office of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, said in a briefing held at the Sejong Government Complex on the 26th: “The measures were jointly prepared by ministries such as the Ministry of strategy and finance, Ministry of Employment and Labour, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for two months starting in October: “It does not meet the conditions of the Democratic Party.” “We have provided technical advice and guidance through the ‘Roadmap for the reduction of serious accidents’ focused on the Ministry of Employment and Labor since November last year, but we have decided to continue the policy with the diagnosis that is still falls short of expectations.” he did.
Furthermore, when asked whether it would be impossible to immediately implement the law without a two-year delay and simultaneously establish a safety management system, practical reasons were given.
Choi Tae-ho, director of industrial accident prevention and supervision policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said: “If a serious accident occurs without a system in place, punishment will be imposed immediately.” country, the priority is to provide support so that they can prepare,” he said.
Park Jong-chan, director of small business policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Start-ups, said: “If a serious accident occurs in a company with fewer than 50 employees, there is a high possibility that the company is shut down, and if that happens, the employees would also suffer harm.” He added: “The creation of a serious incident management system is immediately important in the field.”
[서울·세종=뉴시스]
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