[Public Voices] Beyond Safety to Peace of Mind Workplaces... A "Peach Garden Oath" for Serious Accident Prevention

Professor Kwon Hyuk-myeon, Yonsei University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation

In 2013, Professor Takahashi Teiji from Japan described "peace of mind as a perspective based on safety and obtained through trust." Until now, South Korea's industrial safety and health sector has focused on institutional improvements and has achieved significant results in reducing industrial accidents. It is now time to make efforts to create workplaces that go beyond safety to a level of peace of mind based on trust between labor and management.

In this regard, the agreement adopted on March 15 by the Economic, Social and Labor Council's 'Industrial Safety and Health Committee for the Prevention of Serious Accidents' holds great significance. This agreement is the first case jointly derived by labor, management, and government since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, confirming that labor, management, and government are a 'one team' when it comes to workers' lives and safety. It can truly be called a Peach Garden Oath among labor, management, and government. As one of the public interest members, I, along with other labor, management, and government committee members, conducted expert seminars, site visits, and intense discussions over one year and three months to painstakingly reach this agreement.

This agreement encompasses various areas necessary for a safe workplace, including systems, business operations, accident investigations, and safety culture. Among these, the most meaningful part is the explicit declaration that matters concerning workers' lives and safety will not be linked to labor-management issues but will be resolved cooperatively. This expresses a commitment to forming a culture where labor and management always consult and improve workers' safety and health, even in situations where their interests sharply conflict. This is a very significant advancement in building labor-management trust, unprecedented in industrial safety-related labor-management-government agreements. In particular, the spirit of this agreement aligns with the policy paradigm announced last year by the government through the 'Serious Accident Reduction Roadmap,' which emphasizes 'self-regulation and strict responsibility,' as well as the 'participation' and 'cooperation' of safety stakeholders it aims to promote, making it highly meaningful.

However, the UK's self-regulation means that if employers create and implement regulations equivalent to government laws, this is recognized as compliance with the law. It is necessary to consider whether such self-regulation can be accepted within South Korea's legal enforcement system and, if so, how to secure the technical expertise in supervision processes to determine whether the regulations meet or exceed legal standards.

Despite differences in positions during the discussion process, labor, management, and government were able to reach this agreement by gradually making concessions based on a shared understanding and urgency of the era's mission to prevent serious accidents. We must take a step further. Our labor market faces urgent tasks that can no longer be postponed for all workers and future generations, including not only safety but also resolving the dual structure. I hope this agreement will serve as a valuable seed for creating a platform where labor, management, and government can come together and engage in dialogue.

For the 'Labor-Management-Government Agreement for the Prevention of Serious Accidents' to be realized as a true Peach Garden Oath, it must not remain a mere declarative agreement but be implemented without any negligence so that it leads to actual results in the field. During committee activities, I visited a domestic steel company where, based on labor-management trust, a campaign called 'Happy and Safe Workplace' was underway. I hope this agreement will become a catalyst for industrial sites nationwide to be reborn as workplaces of peace of mind based on trust.

Kwon Hyuk-myeon, Professor, Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Yonsei University