Seoul City Publishes Safety Accident Prevention Guidelines for Cleaning Workers

Immediately Applicable On Site

[Asia Economy Reporter Seong Giho] On the 16th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has published a safety guideline book containing essential information that workers must know to prevent various accidents and occupational diseases that may occur during cleaning work.

The guideline book explains in an easy-to-understand manner, mainly through illustrations, the frequently occurring hazardous situations and accident prevention methods for three job categories: ▲street cleaners ▲garbage and recycling collectors ▲building cleaners.

“Cleaning workers” are essential workers necessary for the protection of citizens' lives and safety and the maintenance of social functions, but they are often exposed to risks such as excessive physical labor and frequent use of chemical substances. Additionally, the proportion of external outsourcing is high, and most work without proper safety rules. The city stated that recognizing these poor conditions of cleaning workers, it published the guideline book to create a better working environment through standardized safety rules.

The guideline book ▲street cleaners ▲garbage and recycling collectors ▲building cleaners review various hazardous situations that may occur during work, present accident prevention methods by type, and recommend personal protective equipment and work tools. It also includes safety checklists for each job category to encourage regular inspections.

In particular, this guideline book was developed by conducting interviews and field surveys targeting cleaning workers in each field to ensure immediate applicability on site, and its completeness was enhanced with advice from safety and health experts.

Furthermore, the guideline includes the role of employers in protecting the safety and health of cleaning workers. It informs about the legal basis for employer obligations that must be carried out periodically and timely, such as safety and health education, health checkups, risk assessments, and hazardous factor investigations, as well as the continuous compliance requirements like providing personal protective equipment and managing rest facilities.

Additionally, it introduces and explains how to use the Labor Rights Center and the Comprehensive Worker Support Center, where workers can receive free consultations and, if necessary, legal relief support when they experience unfair treatment or violations of labor rights at the workplace.

The prevention guideline being issued this time will be distributed free of charge in booklet form at district office civil service centers, Shinhan and Woori Banks, and 18 Comprehensive Worker Support Centers. It can also be downloaded in file (pdf) format from the Seoul Metropolitan Government website.

Jo Wanseok, Seoul City Labor Policy Officer, said, “I hope the prevention guideline created to prevent safety accidents and occupational diseases will be practically helpful not only to cleaning workers but also to employers,” and added, “We will continue to promote policies to prevent industrial accidents among workers and to foster a safe workplace culture.”

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