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KILSH’s Newsletter in April 2025
Letter from the Editor
April 28 is the International Workers’ Memorial Day for those who have been killed in accidents and diseases at work. In 2024, South Korea designated this day as the Day of the Injured Worker as a national commemorative day.
In Korea, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act was enacted and has been in effect since 2022. The law was created to punish responsible employers and prevent fatal accidents. However, the punishment is not as effective as it should be. Preventing occupational accidents and diseases is also a challenge.
Workers are falling to their deaths on construction sites and school cafeteria workers are dying of lung cancer. Workers are suffering from heat exhaustion and emotional labor. Right now in Korea, 2,400 workers a year, 6 workers a day, are unable to go home from work.
Workers should be guaranteed the right to evacuate and stop work if they sense danger. Let’s remember the dead and fight for the rights of the living.
We hope that you will continue to be interested in our activities. Please pass it on to others.
If you have any questions, please reply to this email.
Thank you.
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In-depth review
The Employment Permit System: The most serious hazard to migrant workers’ health (Dec. 2024)
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The purpose of a Fitness for Work Assessment(FFWA) is to answer the question, “Given the worker’s health condition, can they continue the current job?” It is not a choice between fit or not fit, but rather an evaluation of whether the worker can continue to do his or her current job under certain conditions, or if they should only do it temporarily, or if they should permanently not do it at all. The basis for the evaluation and the conditions which must be met to perform the job are also described in detail. This is because the FFWA is a basic part of workplace health management to protect workers’ health from deteriorating due to work.
Sometimes, workers ask me to write a letter stating that they can do the job because the company is considering changing their work assignment or renewing their contract due to health reasons. In such cases, I sympathize with the worker’s desire to maintain their current employment or wage level, but I also strictly analyze whether it is truly safe for them to continue working under the same conditions. When recommending improvements to the working environment, I carefully balance the tone of the report so that the employer is not overwhelmed and wants to avoid hiring the person.
Read more: https://kilsh.or.kr/?p=36419
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KILSH’s studies
Establishment of Proper Labor Intensity Standards for Apartment Building Workers (2020)
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For the main floor of the apartment work, which is still operated as a contract, the union members’ perception of much higher labor intensity than other sites was confirmed. The reduction of working hours, eradication of illegal subcontracting, and employment stabilization at construction sites that the labor unions have been struggling with have not been accomplished in the worksite on the main floor of the apartment. As a result, the labor intensity at the apartment main floor site continued to be high.
This not only threatens health of workers working on the main floor but also prevents union members from entering the main floor work. Therefore, the main-floor labor intensity evaluation project was conducted with the aim of identifying the labor intensity and work content of the current apartment main floor work in detail and then creating basic data for further plans, such as organizing main-floor workers.
It can be considered to secure an additional one or two people for each job in order to reduce the current labor intensity right away since changing of labor relations or industrial structure are long-term tasks. In addition, an active response to construction companies must be accompanied. In the long term, strategies and tactics must be devised to ensure that the main floor aluminum formwork can be carried out with an appropriate labor intensity and over an appropriate construction period. In addition, various experiments should be attempted actively so that this can be achieved in the actual workplaces.
Read more: https://kilsh.or.kr/?p=32349
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About Kilsh(Korea Institute of Labor Safety and Health)
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KILSH is a public interest civil society group focusing on workers’ health and safety. We are working for healthy working conditions for all workers, and for workers to have greater autonomy in their workplaces. We meet and educate workers and trade unions on how to prevent occupational injuries and describe how to get involved in changing the working environment.
We have worked on important issues such as musculoskeletal disorders, long working hours, overwork and mental illness. We have continued our work on workers’ health rights at small-sized businesses, female workers’ health, the climate crisis, the right to stop dangerous work and how risk assessment is conducted and used. These issues are described in our monthly magazine on occupational safety and health with different topics every month. Our translation team provides information about our activities in English.
Our webpage: https://kilsh.or.kr/en/
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