Korean Federation of Public Services and Transportation Workers’ Unions and the Korean Institute of Labor Safety and Health
2017 

I.     Purpose and methods

Shift work damages workers’ health and lives. This is especially true in South Korea where shift work is an old form of labor combined with long working hours that increases the harmful impact of shift work and night work on workers. Reforming the old shift system is one of the ways to create new jobs in the public service and transportation sectors. This reformation can guarantee a better quality of life for workers and create new jobs at the same time.

This research aims to develop standards for good jobs in the public service and transportation sectors in terms of shift work and working hours, and tries to estimate the number of working hours decreased, the scale of new jobs, and the resulting costs when the standards are applied. This process resulted in proposals for legal system reforms related to shift work, a common reform plan for the public service and transportation workers’ union, and a guideline for principal industries.

II.    Case study of reforming shift work 

This research examined examples of changes in the shift system to learn from past experience and propose changes based on correct principles from the point of view of workers. The case studies included: 1) 2 consecutive shifts for a day[1] at an auto parts company to study the influence of shift work on workers’ lives; 2) 4 groups – 2 shifts[2] system implemented at POSCO (steel producer) and Yuhan Kimberly (home and personal care manufacturer); 3) cases of overwork among bus drivers by type of shift work; and 4) a case study of the working hour reduction model in Seoul. The study affirmed that there should be an actual working hour reduction without intensification of work. In addition, the study affirmed that workers’ health and lives can be restored when there is no real wage reduction. This process should proceed based on active discussions and the participation of workers. 

III.   Review of international standards and overseas legislation pertaining 

to shift work

We examined the Forty-Hour Week Convention and Night Work Recommendation of the International Labour Organization (ILO), along with overseas legislation cases related to shift work. Cases included EU, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, Turkey, and UK. Subjects for review included standard working hours, night and shift work schedules, rest time and driving hours. The international and governmental policies examined in this study define night work precisely and limit night work as well as total working hours. Working hours are limited retrospectively by defining rest time (known as holihour) per day to limit work time and allow for rest after work. 

IV.   Guidelines for reform of shift work in the public service and transport sectors
This research suggested guidelines for reforming shift work in the public service and transportation sectors. The purpose of shift work reform should be to improve workers’ health and their quality of life. Therefore, shift work reform should lead to a reduction in working hours without an increase in work intensity. This implies that more employment is needed. In addition, real wages should not be reduced while workers provide improved services. Fixed night work should not be outsourced or subcontracted and there should not be any unreasonable difference in working conditions between regular workers and shift workers. Workers’ participation in the entire reform process is essential. We suggest principles for night work, working hours, rest time (known as  holihour), shift cycle, tasks performed by shift workers, and working conditions, among others when running a shift work system.

V. Problems of national laws concerning shift work and legal reform
South Korean national law does not include any principles or provisions related to shift work such as a definition of shift work, regulations concerning the timing of shift work, or provisions guaranteeing consecutive rest time per day or week. This results in extended working hours and night work in special industries that are allowed under law to have up to 12 extra hours each week in an agreement between the employer and the employee representative. With regards to workers who drive, the only provision related to rest time is in the Passenger Transport Service Act. The Occupational Safety and Health Act has a regulation to limit working hours when performing hazardous and dangerous tasks but its application is very narrow. The Rule on the Occupational Safety and Health Standards lists measures employers must take for shift work and driving work including long-time work and night work, but questions remain about its effectiveness. Reform of the South Korean legal system is needed to regulate shift work properly. A request to reform the legal system related to shift work includes the minimum standards in principle, and a request common to all companies is to reform operational guidelines for shift work in the public service and transport sectors.

VI. Estimation of the affected labor force and the cost for shift work system reform by industry

This research suggested an applicable plan to reform shift work in several companies that are using shift work and employ workers who are members of the Korean Federation of Public Services and Transportation Workers’ Union. The study also estimated the labor force and the costs needed to reform the shift work system in order to examine if the reform plan is realistic. Selected companies included the bus industry, the Incheon International Airport Corporation (indirect employees), Busan Transportation Corporation (Busan Subway), five power plant subsidiaries, the Korea Gas Corporation, and the Korea Railroad Corporation. While estimating the costs of reform, it was assumed that regular workers should be employed for the labor force needed to reform shift work, and that the average salary should not be decreased. However, the social costs also need to be considered as well. In the process of reforming shift work, wage system reformation also needs to be done if the wage reduction is significant or the wage level is low. Compensating working hours as support work or replaced work should not be considered since shift work reform should lead to a reduction in actual working hours.

[1] 2 consecutive shifts for a day: 2 working groups are made and work separately during the morning and afternoon. 

[2] 4 groups – 2 shifts: 4 working groups are made; 2 groups work for 12 hours during the day and night each while the other 2 groups have a day off.