Seoul, South Korea โฃ – Over 8,400 environmental sanitation workers in Southโ Korea experiencedโค work-related accidents or illnesses last year, wiht disease-related deaths accounting for โa โฃmajority – 54% – of fatalities, according to newly released data.This marks a โขsignificant increase in reported incidents and underscores theโฃ dangerous conditions faced โขby those responsibleโ for maintaining public cleanliness.
The alarming figures reveal a persistent and escalating crisis within the environmental sanitation sector. In the past five years, 723โ workers have died on the job and filed for survivor benefits.โ A considerable portion of these deaths – 275 – were attributed to cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, with anโ estimated โone-third โlinked to overwork. The primary cause of industrial accidents remains โฃ”nightโ labor,” as sanitation workers often operate during peak traffic and reduced visibility hours.
Despite Ministry โof Habitat guidelines recommending work hours between 6 โa.m. and 10 p.m., manyโ local governments continue to โคauthorize nighttime shifts due to resident complaints and urgent waste management needs. Only two out of seoul’s 25 autonomous districts adhere to the recommended schedule.
Theโข Nationalโฃ Democratic Union recently held a press conference โdemanding greater accountability from localโ offices, โคspecifically citing โthe Gangseo-gu Office as โthe “real user” responsible for worker management and oversight.โฃ “In order to fundamentallyโ reduceโ the repeated environmental disasters, we โmust go beyondโข simple measures to secure budgets, supply safety equipment, expand dedicated โpersonnel, and improve the working environment,” stated Representative Park Hae-cheol.
Aโค recent incident in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, highlighted the risks, where a 50-year-old worker was fatally struck whileโค workingโ behind a collection โvehicle. these incidentsโ fuel calls for systemic changes to prioritize worker safety and well-being within the environmental sanitationโฃ industry.