Gyeonggi-do Recommends Improving Regulations on Human Rights Violations in Social Welfare Facilities... Prohibition of Collective Actions, etc.

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Center has recommended improvements to 11 human rights-violating operational regulations in social welfare facilities across the province, including rules that prohibit collective actions by facility workers, infringing on their freedom of expression, and employment discrimination regulations restricted by specific religions.

According to the province on the 27th, the Human Rights Center held a meeting of the Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Protection Officer on the 25th and passed a resolution on these improvement measures.

Earlier, during a pilot monitoring process of facilities for the disabled last year, the province discovered similar human rights violation elements in facility operational regulations.

On that day, the Human Rights Center reviewed the operational regulations of six social welfare facilities, including residential facilities for the disabled, self-support facilities, elderly care facilities, and child protection facilities. It judged that regulations prohibiting collective actions such as assemblies and demonstrations within the facilities, as well as regulations banning the distribution and posting of leaflets and documents, infringe on the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression, and recommended the deletion of related regulations.

Additionally, the regulation disciplining workers for 'incitement' was judged to potentially infringe on workers' freedom of expression due to arbitrary interpretation and application by disciplinary authorities. The regulation that disciplines those who neglect to report incitement acts as if they were the perpetrators was judged to infringe on freedom of conscience. The center requested improvements on these points to the province.

The Human Rights Center also found multiple employment discrimination elements in personnel-related regulations of social welfare facilities and recommended deleting the related regulations.

Regarding the recommended deletions, among the disqualifications for workers, the rule excluding 'persons declared bankrupt' is considered economic discrimination. Requiring submission of family relation certificates unrelated directly to job duties at hiring is seen as employment discrimination based on marital status, family type, or circumstances. Regulations restricting facility workers' qualifications to specific religions or stipulating dismissal for 'being fined or punished above a certain level due to labor-management issues' are also violations of equality rights.

Furthermore, the Human Rights Center recommended deleting regulations related to work attendance that prohibit taking more than two consecutive days of annual leave, disallow annual leave in months including long-term leave, or prohibit annual leave on specific days such as Mondays. It advised improving regulations to allow workers to take leave at their desired times. If regulations on early arrival or overtime work exist, it was recommended to explicitly state that overtime hours are paid working hours.

Heo Seon-haeng, head of the Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Center, said, "The recommendation to improve operational regulations clarifies the problems caused when facility operators infringe on workers' rights through operational regulations. Since most facilities appear to use similar operational regulations beyond those monitored, we expect this recommendation to serve as an opportunity for each facility to review and improve their overall operational regulations."

The Human Rights Center handles human rights counseling, investigations, and remedies for human rights violations and discrimination occurring in the province, its subordinate administrative agencies, public institutions, entrusted agencies, and welfare facilities supported by Gyeonggi-do.

Since its opening in 2017, it has carried out six human rights violation improvement recommendations and resolved four cases through mediation, and it conducts year-round human rights monitoring in the public sector.

For counseling or reporting human rights violations and discriminatory acts, please call (031-8008-2340).

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