Jeon Ok-hyeon, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member, Emphasizes Urgent Need to Improve Welfare Facility Workers' Treatment

Jo Ok-hyun, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly, attended the 'Public Hearing on the Comprehensive Plan for Improving the Treatment of Social Welfare Facility Workers' and emphasized the improvement of workers' treatment. Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Assembly

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] Jo Ok-hyun, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea·Mokpo 2), announced on the 23rd that he attended the "Public Hearing for Establishing a Comprehensive Plan to Improve the Treatment of Social Welfare Facility Workers in Jeollanam-do" held at the Jeonnam Social Welfare Center.

The public hearing, hosted by the Jeonnam Welfare Foundation, involved in-depth discussions on measures to improve treatment and the direction for establishing plans.

The hearing was attended by 11 people, including Shin Hyun-sook, CEO of the Jeonnam Welfare Foundation, Kang Jeong-hee, Chairperson of the Health, Welfare, and Environment Committee of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly, Assemblyman Jo Ok-hyun, and Professor Kim Ki-duk of Soonchunhyang University. Social welfare facility workers participated online.

Assemblyman Jo Ok-hyun, who attended as a designated discussant, pointed out, "The wage levels of social welfare facility workers in Jeonnam do not comply with the labor cost guidelines presented by the Ministry of Health and Welfare," adding, "Inadequate treatment of workers ultimately leads to a decline in the quality of social welfare services for all residents."

He continued, "There is an issue of equity due to differences in treatment improvements for social welfare facility workers by local governments," and suggested, "Support measures implemented in more than 50% of basic local governments should be applied in all cities and counties within the province, and higher laws and regulations should be revised to gradually expand these measures nationwide."

Furthermore, he mentioned, "Along with establishing a single wage system, an obligation to comply with it should be stipulated to achieve substantial improvements in treatment," emphasizing, "The most important aspect in establishing a comprehensive plan to improve the treatment of social welfare facility workers is the opinions of the workers themselves."

He also urged, "Please pay special attention to ensure that small-scale welfare facility workers, such as those at local children's centers, child group homes, and shelters for abused children, are not marginalized or left in blind spots."

Assemblyman Jo Ok-hyun serves as the head of the Health and Welfare Workers Support Policy Development Research Group and has been hosting forums on improving the treatment of health and welfare workers since 2018. He is particularly focused on addressing the poor working conditions of social welfare facility workers through his legislative activities.

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