Seoul City Provides On-Site Guidance for COVID-19 Infection Prevention at 62 Call Centers and Building Cleaning Sites

Support up to 2 Million KRW for Labor Environment Improvement Costs in Call Centers with Fewer Than 50 Employees
24,000 Masks and Hand Sanitizers Delivered to Over 3,000 Cleaning Workers

On February 11th, call center agents are handling consultations at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency 1339 Call Center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. The photo is unrelated to the article content. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] On the 13th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office announced that they conducted joint visits and guidance at 15 private call centers and 47 building cleaning operation sites located in Seoul.

About 40 officials, including Seoul city officials, labor inspectors from the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office, and Seoul city village labor attorneys, jointly visited a total of 62 workplaces from the 2nd to the 7th. They visited high-risk close-contact workplaces to provide workplace guidance for the prevention of COVID-19, inform about damage support systems, and also offered free labor consulting for small businesses facing management difficulties.

This is the first time that local governments and labor inspectors have conducted joint guidance in Seoul, and it is particularly meaningful as a public-private cooperation involving labor attorneys who provide labor consulting.

The city explained that the visits were conducted to improve labor environments and prevent infections in so-called high-risk close-contact areas, including call centers with high infection risks, where many workers work or rest together in confined spaces.

The joint guidance team visited workplaces to broadly inform about diversified work arrangements, labor environment management, 'social distancing,' and hygiene management measures for infection prevention. They also guided employers on government and city support systems such as employment retention subsidies and telecommuting support. Additionally, they provided workers with information on psychological counseling and damage support measures related to leave and suspension.

As a result of the joint visits, it was found that private call centers without symptomatic cases showed somewhat low participation in social distancing measures such as flexible work and telecommuting. For small businesses, even setting up systems for telecommuting can be a burden, so the city plans to consider supporting part of the system setup costs for telecommuting for call centers with fewer than 50 employees if COVID-19 prolongs.

Currently, Seoul supports labor environment improvement costs such as installing simple partitions, purchasing hygiene products like hand sanitizers and masks, and quarantine supplies for call centers with fewer than 50 employees. Of the total amount supported by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 70% (up to 20 million KRW) is covered, and the remaining 20% (up to 5 million KRW) is supported by Seoul city.

The city also proposed social distancing measures such as minimal staggered commuting and adjustment of break times for the cleaning industry, where shift work and flexible work are difficult due to the nature of simultaneous early morning attendance. Considering that most workers are elderly, they were advised to frequently check respiratory symptoms, conduct self-quarantine if necessary, and follow detailed work rules such as regular disinfection, sterilization, and ventilation. To create a safe working environment, the city decided to provide 12,000 masks and 12,000 hand sanitizers, totaling 24,000 items.

For small cleaning business owners facing difficulties due to business suspensions in buildings where cleaning services are contracted, village labor attorneys provided free labor consulting including guidance on government support systems.

Seo Seong-man, Director of Labor and Livelihood Policy, said, "Joint guidance is effective in quickly informing and encouraging participation in practical support measures for workplaces practicing social distancing and facing management difficulties. We will strive to create safe workplaces through continuous inspections for workers' infection prevention and support for employers."

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