A container manufacturer in Chungcheongnam-do created a cell phone collection box for production line workers along with the implementation of the Serious Accident Penalty Act, but abandoned it due to opposition from workers. In addition, for safety on site, rear sensors and blind cameras were installed on all vehicles, but there were many cases when workers switched off the devices to speed up the work, so they became useless.
A year has passed since the Serious Accidents Act was enacted on January 27 last year, but it is assessed that the actual accident prevention effect was not great, as the number of fatal accidents in workplaces with 50 or more workers increased from compared to before. the law was enforced. It is an analysis that only the owner of the business is punished in case the safety regulations are breached, and there is no disciplinary measure for employees, and SMEs do not have the workforce and the money necessary to implement this law, so there is only a ‘half way’ operation on the site. Under the Serious Accidents Act, if even one fatal accident occurs, the employer is punished by imprisonment for more than one year or a fine of less than 1 billion won. Here, punishment can be imposed four times, including corporate fines, administrative sanctions, and punitive damages. Small and medium business representatives complain, “How can we prevent an unavoidable accident that can happen in the blink of an eye no matter how well equipped the safety system is?”
“How can a non-defense worker…” Sighs the midterm president
A representative of a plastics manufacturer in the metropolitan area did not listen to the explanation given to workers to stop the facility in case of danger, so they installed automatic stop sensors on all 60 large facilities. However, workers soon found it inconvenient and started working by randomly unplugging the cord. The president of this company appealed, “No matter how much I say it’s dangerous, they don’t listen.”
A precision parts manufacturer in Daegu was stopped several times last year only by officials from the Ministry of Employment and Labor to inspect the site. A representative of this company admitted, “Because of the Major Disaster Act, we recommend to people around us that we should never do manufacturing in Korea.” As a result of the ‘Survey of the 100 Days of the Implementation of the Serious Accident Act’ by the Federation of Small and Medium Businesses of Korea, 80.6% of industrial accidents were ‘non-compliant with guidelines such as worker negligence’. A lawyer specializing in serious disaster cases said, “In Germany, there is a trend in developed countries that emphasizes joint responsibility between labor and management, such as punishing workers who violate safety rules.” He said the facts,” he said.
Only astronomical paperwork has increased in face-to-face work… Major Disasters Act, which became a ‘significant disaster’ in China
When CEO A of a construction company in Gyeongsangbuk-do goes to work, what he does every morning is make phone calls to 30 construction sites across the country. This is because the call needs to be recorded to the site manager to ensure safety, so that responsibility can be reduced in the event of a major disaster later. Some companies focused more on paperwork than on site, and instead distanced themselves from security management. A company based in the metropolitan area complains that the risk of accidents has increased as it has recently dispatched production workers to respond to major disasters. In order to comply with the Major Disaster Act, a great deal of paperwork is required, from establishing a safety management plan to evaluation and improvement work. The representative of this company complained, “If there is a serious disaster, whether the business owner is arrested or not is judged by the documents that must be prepared according to the law.
The burden of ‘risk assessment’ is also added… The number of requests to buy insurance in China is increasing rapidly
Construction company B in the metropolitan area with 150 employees is now in a position to perform a ‘risk assessment’, which is mandatory for large business sites with 300 or more employees. This is because there are cases where the number of temporary workers exceeds 300 due to related regulations that treat daily workers on construction sites equally with regular workers if certain conditions are met. Risk assessment is a system that enables companies to identify and improve harmful and risk factors on their own. Construction company B cannot find an employee dedicated to safety management to carry out the task immediately, so it is on its feet.
Spoofing, taking advantage of the confusion in the early stages of implementing the Major Disasters Act, is rampant against small and medium-sized businesses. Employees of small and medium-sized businesses also suffer from calls to their offices several times a day, inviting them to buy insurance. Generally, if an employee subscribes to an accident and death insurance of 30,000 to 50,000 won per person, the penalty of the company representative can be reduced in the event of an industrial accident. However, there are many cases where payment is not made in the event of an actual accident, and experts agree that it is difficult to avoid a penalty by simply buying insurance.
Ministry of Employment and Labor did not help with ‘overseas worker safety training support’
Confusion is exacerbated in small and medium business sites with large numbers of foreign workers. A representative of a small and medium-sized paper company in the metropolitan area said, “After experiencing a big fire in the past, CCTV was installed everywhere, and foreign workers protested against it, saying why they were monitoring it, saying that it is against human rights.” I don’t wear safety shoes well, so it’s hard to convince.” A representative of a root company said, “There are 200,000 foreign workers (E9 visa) in Korea who do simple work, and there are many business representatives small and medium-sized enterprises that have difficulties in safety training due to communication problems with them.” Have you ever given industrial safety education in the language of every country, like Cambodia?”
Reporter Min Kyung-jin min@hankyung.com
Reporter Kang Kyung-ju qurasoha@hankyung.com
Reporter Ahn Dae-gyu powerzanic@hankyung.com
