Haenam-gun Launches First 'Public Seasonal Work Program' for Foreign Seasonal Workers

Hwangsan Nonghyup Dispatches Daily Wage Workers to Meet Short-Term and Irregular Demand

Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, is implementing a public seasonal labor project for foreign seasonal workers for the first time this year.

According to the county on the 21st, unlike the existing foreign seasonal worker system where individual farms sign labor contracts and workers only work at the farm's workplace, the public seasonal labor project involves the Nonghyup signing labor contracts with workers and dispatching them on a daily wage basis to farms in need of labor.

After completing the administrative procedures for the entry of 22 Vietnamese seasonal workers, they are receiving worker training along with a welcome ceremony.
[Photo by Haenam-gun]

This project is being implemented for the first time under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and in Haenam, it is being promoted by Hwangsan Nonghyup. The Hwangsan Nonghyup public seasonal workers will be deployed to farms starting from the 21st and will operate for five months until September, with the possibility of a three-month extension depending on the progress of the project. Six workers who have not yet entered the country are expected to arrive and participate in the project by the end of this month.

In this regard, Haenam-gun and Hwangsan Nonghyup completed the administrative procedures for the entry of 22 Vietnamese seasonal workers who entered through the family relative invitation program for marriage immigrants on the 20th, and held a welcoming ceremony along with worker training.

Haenam-gun expects that the public seasonal labor project will be able to respond to the short-term and irregular demand of small and medium-sized farms in the region, satisfy various farm demands, and contribute to alleviating the rising local labor costs during the busy farming season.

A county official said, “To solve the rural labor shortage problem, we have continuously consulted with Hwangsan Nonghyup to promote the public seasonal labor project. Although there will be difficulties as this is the first implementation, we hope the project will bear good fruit and help expand the rural labor base.”

Meanwhile, Haenam-gun currently operates 291 foreign seasonal workers, including 225 seasonal workers who entered through the marriage immigrant family and relative invitation program.