Coupang Labor-Management Truth Game: "Fire Drill, First Time Last Week" vs "Regular Annual Drills"

"Training for a total of 20 minutes on each floor and building of the logistics center"
"Frequent false alarms of fire detectors" also claimed
It is difficult to narrow the gap between labor and management positions
Current employee: "'Respect for dignity' must be the most basic"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

"After the fire accident at the Deokpyeong Logistics Center, we conducted our first fire evacuation drill. Stopping all work and dedicating 20 minutes to fire training is a big deal for Coupang."

As a joint investigation into the cause of the fire at Coupang's Deokpyeong Logistics Center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province is underway, a dispute over the truth between Coupang employees and management regarding the incident continues. Coupang stated that fire drills are conducted regularly once or twice a year, but claims have been raised that the first fire evacuation drill was only held after the logistics center fire accident.

A contract employee, Mr. A, who has been working at a Coupang logistics center in the Gyeonggi area for over a year, explained on the 30th, "Last week, we conducted a fire evacuation drill for the first time on each floor and building," adding, "The drill took about 20 minutes in total." Considering that employees usually move nonstop for fast delivery and logistics operations run 24 hours, this is very unusual. Mr. A also said, "Although I have worked here for over a year, there was no fire response training during that time," and "Safety education is provided upon joining, but we were not specifically informed about evacuation locations."

Since logistics center fires can easily lead to large-scale disasters, constant vigilance for fire prevention is necessary, but according to Mr. A, the atmosphere on site was not like that. He said, "Fire alarms often go off due to malfunctions, but no one pays attention," and added, "Because many products need to be shipped out, if there is space in the aisles, they often forcefully bring in more stock."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Coupang presented a contrasting position. A Coupang representative stated, "We conduct fire evacuation drills once or twice a year," and "Thanks to regular emergency evacuation drills, all 248 workers evacuated within 5 minutes following the set procedures during the Deokpyeong fire." Additionally, Coupang said that last year, fire safety education was conducted online and non-face-to-face at the Deokpyeong Logistics Center. This video training was held following government recommendations to avoid in-person gatherings due to COVID-19.

Current and former Coupang employees and the labor union have raised various issues about the company after the fire accident. One logistics center employee claimed "If the work pace slows down or if you are not assigned during picking (shipping), you are called by your one-barcode (phone number)," alleging ‘personal dignity violations.’ Coupang has denied these claims, stating, "We address employees as ‘Employee OOO’ when calling them."

There is an ongoing dispute over various issues between labor and management. Given Coupang's recent situation, it seems difficult for these problems to be resolved easily. A Coupang logistics center employee said, "For me, Coupang is both my current workplace and a valuable job," adding, "No employee wants the company to be criticized and fail." He pointed out, "A significant portion of the recent issues concern ‘personal dignity,’ and respect for dignity should be fundamental." He expressed a desire for the company to acknowledge the problems and work together with employees to bring about change.

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