Jeonnam Province Takes Active Steps to Improve Working Conditions for Salt Farm Workers

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province has taken active measures to address human rights violations against salt farm workers.

On the 28th, the province announced that it held the first meeting of the “Task Force for Improving the Treatment of Salt Farm Workers,” which includes participation from related organizations, in response to the wage exploitation incident involving salt farm workers that occurred last year.

The “Task Force for Improving the Treatment of Salt Farm Workers” was formed centered around the provincial government, Jeonnam Police Agency, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

It is organized into a structure with one director led by the Deputy Governor, including nine department heads in charge, and three teams: the General Team, Investigation Support Team, and Field Promotion Team.

Going forward, through collaboration and coordination among agencies and departments, the task force will comprehensively manage current and upcoming measures to eradicate labor exploitation of salt farm workers, review the possibility of linking these measures, and serve as a policy response control tower.

At the meeting chaired by the Deputy Governor, detailed initiatives were discussed to prevent recurrence of similar incidents and improve the working environment of salt farms, including ▲legal and administrative system improvements ▲strengthening management and support for salt farm businesses ▲expanding protection of labor human rights for salt farm workers.

It was agreed to share responses and progress on major issues by each agency going forward.

In particular, responding to the point that a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the working environment surrounding salt farms must be prioritized, it was agreed to promptly and as a top priority carry out the “Research Project on the Human Rights Status of Salt Farm Workers” and the “Joint Full Survey of Salt Farm Workers by Related Agencies.”

A Jeonnam Province official said, “Until now, the province has focused on the growth and development of the solar salt industry, but from now on, we will concentrate on ensuring fairness throughout all processes of solar salt production in line with the times,” adding, “We will fully guarantee the labor human rights of salt farm workers and prevent potential human rights violations in advance to restore our status as a premium solar salt production region.”

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