Seongdong-gu Takes Steps to Protect Apartment Workers' Human Rights

Seongdong-gu Signs Agreement with Apartment Residents' Representatives Association to Protect Human Rights of Apartment Workers

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] "There was really a lot of noise over the apartment power abuse controversy. The residents themselves raised their voices to protect the human rights of the workers."

At the 'Multi-family Housing Workers' Human Rights Protection Agreement Ceremony' held on the 5th floor seminar room of Seongdong-gu Office on the 10th, Jigi-nam, chairman of the Seongdong-gu Apartment Residents' Representatives Council Federation, who attended the event, stated that residents voluntarily took part in this agreement to lead the protection of human rights for multi-family housing workers such as security guards working in management offices.

On this day, Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh), the Seongdong-gu Apartment Residents' Representatives Council Federation, and the Seongdong branch of the Korea Housing Managers Association gathered to prevent inhumane treatment of multi-family housing workers and to take the lead in protecting their human rights, following a recent social issue involving a security guard in an apartment in Gangbuk who made an extreme choice due to residents' power abuse.

The three organizations pledged to ensure employment stability and improve treatment for multi-family housing workers, prohibit unfair work orders, and agreed to establish necessary policies.

Seongdong-gu has a high proportion of multi-family housing residents, with over 80% of the total population living in such housing, and has actively worked to improve awareness and environment for multi-family housing workers.

In 2019, to foster a culture of mutual respect between multi-family housing residents and workers, ethics education was conducted for 607 members of local multi-family housing residents' representatives councils. This year, as part of the multi-family housing support project, air conditioners were installed in security guard posts at two multi-family housing complexes, including Kumho Byeoksan Apartment, to improve the working environment of security workers.

Starting from July this year, a 'Recyclables Separation Volunteer Group' was formed targeting local multi-family housing, participating once or twice a month in recyclables separation to promote separation methods and directly support separation tasks.

This is a win-win project aimed at alleviating the heavy workload of multi-family housing workers such as security guards, who have been overwhelmed by the rapid increase in recyclables disposal since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and providing opportunities for communication.

Jung Won-oh, mayor of Seongdong-gu, stated, "We will do our best to promote various policies such as education and publicity to prevent human rights violations against multi-family housing workers and to spread a sense of community for coexistence between residents and workers in multi-family housing."