Busan Office of Education to Drastically Improve Working Conditions for School Meal Workers

Increase of 300 Food Service Workers

Improvement of Ventilation Facilities in Cafeterias

Expansion of Lung Cancer Screening (CT) Eligibility

Busan Metropolitan Office of Education is taking active steps to protect the health of school meal workers and improve their working conditions.

On the 24th at 2 p.m., Busan Office of Education held an emergency press conference to announce measures to improve the working environment of school meal workers. The office plans to implement a significant increase in kitchen staff, improve kitchen environments, and establish preventive measures against lung diseases among school meal workers.

Until now, schools have consistently demanded improvements to the staffing standards, which had been the lowest among metropolitan cities for several years. Although some additional staff were hired in 2019, the levels remained among the lowest nationwide.

To raise the staffing standards for school kitchen workers above the metropolitan city average, Busan Office of Education plans to add 100 personnel annually for three years starting in 2024, totaling 300 additional staff members.

The office expects that the expansion of kitchen staff under the current fifth-term superintendent will significantly reduce the labor intensity for workers.

Furthermore, to prevent lung diseases caused by cooking fumes among meal workers, the office has determined that improving the working environment is urgent and will also upgrade the kitchen ventilation systems.

The ventilation systems will be completely replaced by 2026. To ensure proper ventilation in kitchens, supply ducts will be installed, and the existing single exhaust duct will be increased to two or three.

Busan Office of Education.

Gas-powered cooking equipment such as cauldrons, rice cookers, fryers, and ovens in school cafeterias will also be fully replaced with electric models.

Last year, the city education office conducted lung cancer health screenings for school meal workers for the first time, revealing an urgent need to establish health management measures for these workers.

Accordingly, the lung cancer screening (lung CT) for school meal workers will be expanded comprehensively. Previously limited to workers with more than one year of service, the screening will be extended to newly hired employees starting next year. To detect lung cancer early, workers will be supported with an annual low-dose lung CT scan.

The economic burden of lung cancer screening for school meal workers will also be alleviated. The full cost of the first screening will be covered, and for those with abnormal findings in the first screening, the second screening costs will be fully supported. If additional tests are required based on specialist opinions after the second screening, up to 3 million KRW in actual expenses will be covered.

In particular, Superintendent Ha Yun-su and other senior officials will experience a one-day kitchen worker program, checking the entire meal process including morning inspection, cooking, serving, and cleaning. Issues revealed through this experience will not be limited to the current improvement plan but will be addressed continuously with new measures.

Ha Yun-su, Superintendent of Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, stated, “We will do our best to ensure that school meal workers can work in a safe and comfortable environment going forward.”

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