Lee Jae-gap "Subcontracted Workers' Accidents Persist... Primary Contractors Need Attention and Effort"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor, called for the interest and efforts of primary contractors to reduce accidents among subcontracted workers.

Minister Lee Jae-gap stated at the 'Employers' Meeting on Strengthening the Responsibility of Contractors under the Revised Industrial Safety and Health Act,' held on the morning of the 3rd at a restaurant in Jung-gu, Seoul, "Although the number of fatal occupational accidents has decreased from around 1,000 annually to the 800 range last year, the fatality rate (the ratio of accident deaths per 10,000 workers) remains higher than in advanced countries, and especially, many accidents have occurred among subcontracted workers."

He emphasized, "Small subcontractors fundamentally lack safety management capabilities and have insufficient financial resources to invest in safety facilities. They often win bids for high-risk tasks at low prices and work in conditions where risks are neglected, leading to accidents. To reduce industrial accidents among subcontractors, it is necessary for primary contractors, who have the ability to effectively manage the entire workplace and improve risk factors, to show interest and make efforts."

Previously, the government fully revised the Industrial Safety and Health Act to prevent accidents among subcontracted workers and significantly strengthened the responsibilities of primary contractors. The revision includes provisions that, regardless of the type of subcontract or whether the location is hazardous, subcontracted work within the contractor’s workplace is included within the contractor’s responsibility. Even subcontracted work outside the contractor’s workplace is included if it is a location controlled or managed by the contractor.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, considering that subcontracted workers handling hazardous and dangerous materials perform the same tasks even if the primary contractor changes, increasing the risk of occupational diseases over time, the law prohibits subcontracting of inherently hazardous and dangerous work and introduces a subcontracting approval system for some tasks.

Regarding this, Minister Lee said, "This legal revision was made based on social consensus for the first time in 28 years, so please take this opportunity to re-examine accident risk factors in workplaces and pay special attention to safety." He added, "We will also listen carefully to voices from the field during the law’s implementation process and reflect them in system improvements, operating the subcontracting system rationally to ensure it settles in the shortest time without confusion at the workplace."

Meanwhile, the meeting was held for workplace managers who will be directly affected by the revised Industrial Safety and Health Act, which will take effect on the 16th. It was organized to explain the details of the legal revision and to hear the difficulties faced by each company.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.