Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2010, Publicación: 100ª reunión CIT (2011)

Convenio sobre seguridad y salud de los trabajadores, 1981 (núm. 155) - República de Corea (Ratificación : 2008)

The Committee notes the Government’s first report including the legislative texts attached. The Committee also notes the comments by the Korea Employers Federation (KEF) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) attached to the Government’s report. The Committee further notes the comments transmitted by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) on 27 August 2010 and the Government’s response thereto submitted on 28 October 2010.

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government regarding the effect given to the Convention, inter alia, through the Occupational Safety and Health Act No. 4220 of 13 January 1990 (as amended until 4 June 2010) (OSH Act), its Enforcement Decree and related regulations. The Enforcement Decree has not been made available to the Committee. The Committee notes that the OSH Act applies to all businesses, workplaces and workers; however, the Government indicates that, by virtue of the Enforcement Decree, certain businesses, workplaces and workers, listed in table 1 to the Enforcement Decree, have been excluded from certain provisions of the OSH Act. As noted by the FKTU, the Government has not provided any information on progress towards a wider application of the Convention. The Government is requested to provide further information on measures taken to give effect to this provision of the Convention and to make available a copy of the Enforcement Decree to the OSH Act including, its table 1.

Article 4(1). Formulating, implementing and periodically reviewing a coherent national policy in consultation with the most representative organizations of employers and workers. Article 5(d). Communication and cooperation. The Committee notes the information provided that the current national policy, as articulated in the Third Five-Year Plan for Industrial Prevention, was established following a meeting in April 2010 to gather opinions from workers’ and employers’ representatives. The Committee also notes that the Government periodically checks the implementation of each task in this plan through expert committees under the Deliberation Committee on Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance and Prevention, including, employers, workers and public interest members, and that this Deliberation Committee is tasked with the consideration and coordination of mid- and long-term basic OSH plans on industrial accident prevention and major policies. The Government also refers to the Deliberation Committee in the context of the application of Article 5(d). The Committee notes, however, that, according to the FKTU, the referenced expert committees have not been set up. In this context, the Committee would like to refer the Government to paragraph 49 of the 2009 General Survey on occupational safety and health, in which it is stated as follows: “The social partners are thus to be involved in all stages of the national policy-making process. It should be underscored that the wording in Article 4(1) … refers to action to be taken in consultation with representative organizations of employers and workers, as opposed to after consultation with, as often provided for in other ILO Conventions. As indicated in the preparatory work [of Convention No. 155] this implied an obligation not merely to consult once but to have a continuing dialogue as necessary. It also implied that this obligation did not affect the authority of the member States, as the case may be, its legislature, to take the final decision.” Against this background, and in light of the comment from the FKTU, the Committee requests the Government to provide further information on how the consultations are carried out with the most representative organizations of employers and workers as prescribed in the Convention including, in particular, in Articles 4(1) and 5(e).

Article 9(2). Adequate penalties. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government regarding functioning of the labour inspectorate and the penalties that can be imposed pursuant to Chapter IX of the OSH Act. The Committee also notes that, according to the KCTU, the Government is not applying these provisions properly, and that the inspectorates mainly impose corrective orders rather than fines, although the latter have a stronger preventive effect. The KCTU refers to statistics from 2007 indicating that, in 96.2 per cent of all cases, only corrective orders were issued including two specific cases with further details where, according to the KCTU, the orders were ignored which in both cases resulted in the death of a worker. The Committee notes the Government’s response that the main purpose of sanctions is not to punish employers but to prevent accidents and, in any event, it does not only issue corrective orders, but also takes the proper administrative and judicial actions, such as suspension of the use of machines, suspension of work, imposition of fines, prosecution, etc. While not disputing the statistics referred to by the FKTU, the Government indicates that, according to section 15 of the code of practice for occupational safety and health inspectors (Order No. 703 of the Minister of Employment and Labour, 31 July 2009), a correction order is used as a punishment for minor violations in accordance with specified criteria and this sanction can accomplish its purpose without excessively limiting the rights of those subject thereto. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s report, it introduced in May 2007 a reliability assessment system to assess the accuracy and precision of the results monitoring of the work environment. In this respect, the Committee notes that the FKTU states that no reliability assessment was conducted until the end of July 2010. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on measures taken to give effect to the present Article, with reference to the comments by the KCTU and the FKTU.

Article 10. Provision of guidance to workers and employers. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that, in 2008 and 2009 respectively, a total of 35,325 and 30,772 workplaces were provided with “guidance and inspection”. The Committee also notes that, according to the KEF, the Government should also ensure that guidance is provided to workers so as to ensure their compliance with legal obligations. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on measures taken to give effect to the present Article, with reference to the comment by the KEF.

Article 14. Including OSH at all levels of education and training. The Committee notes the reference made by the Government to education materials distributed in schools to promote safety culture. The Committee also notes the comments by the FKTU that this Article also requires the Government to take measures so as to promote the provision of information to meet the training needs of workers. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on measures taken to give effect to the present Article, with reference to the comment by the FKTU.

Article 15. Arrangements for coordination and consultations with workers’ and employer’s representatives. The Committee notes the information provided  by the Government that the Ministry of Employment and Labour coordinates the activities of various authorities and bodies at the national level and that it consults with workers’ and employers’ representatives on occupational safety and health legislation. The Committee also notes the comments by the KEF that the referenced consultations with the most representative organizations of employers and workers cannot be carried out effectively due to time constraints imposed by the Government. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on measures taken to give effect to the present Article, with reference to the comment by the KEF.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.