Gyeonggi-do to Implement 'Youth Labor Health Rights Education' Starting Next Year

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will conduct 'Youth Labor Health Rights Education' starting next year for about 600 students from specialized high schools and out-of-school youth to raise awareness of labor health and safety among adolescents.

On the 3rd, Gyeonggi Province announced that it signed a business agreement on 'Gyeonggi Province Youth Labor Health Rights Education' at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office with the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association, which protects workplace health, and the Gyeonggi Lifelong Education Promotion Institute.

Attending the agreement ceremony were Oh Byeong-kwon, Acting Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Kang Hee-tae, President of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association, and Kim Je-seon, Director of the Gyeonggi Lifelong Education Promotion Institute.

The Youth Labor Health Rights Education focuses on supporting specialized high school seniors and out-of-school youth, who are taking their first steps into society, to protect their own health by educating them on the 'right to work healthily' and how to apply for industrial accident insurance.

According to the agreement, the province will promote the education and conduct demand surveys targeting specialized high school students in the province.

The Gyeonggi Lifelong Education Promotion Institute will be responsible for linking schools and out-of-school youth facilities and supporting education operations. The Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association will dispatch occupational and environmental medicine specialists as instructors and provide educational content.

The main educational content includes ▲ actual accident cases in labor sites ▲ reasons why adolescent and young workers are vulnerable to safety and health accidents ▲ various occupational diseases and emotional labor, and precautions that youth should take at work ▲ industrial accident insurance that social beginners should know ▲ safety and health of special-type workers.

The province will conduct 30 sessions of Youth Labor Health Rights Education in the first half of next year for about 600 specialized high school seniors and out-of-school youth in the province. The specific timing and methods of education will be decided through detailed consultations among the agreement institutions. After next year's education, the province will review expanding the scale of the project from 2023 based on students' satisfaction with the education.

Acting Governor Oh Byeong-kwon said, "Cases of specialized high school students doing field training getting injured or losing their lives due to safety accidents and long working hours continue to occur in the labor field, so measures to prevent industrial accidents among teenagers are urgently needed," adding, "Gyeonggi Province's Youth Labor Health Rights Education is expected to be a stepping stone for preventing industrial accidents among youth and enabling them to proactively protect their own health."

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province is also conducting 'Visiting Youth Labor Rights Education' centered on labor rights and labor laws. This year, the province is conducting the program for about 100,000 students from middle and high schools and related educational facilities in the province, as well as out-of-school youth.