Naju-si Conducts Employer Training for Foreign Seasonal Workers

Naju City in Jeollanam-do announced on the 5th that it conducted training for employers in the second half of 2024 to protect the human rights of foreign seasonal workers within the jurisdiction.

Recently, the city held a session at the city hall’s main conference room for 191 farms in the area, sharing information about the foreign seasonal worker program, working conditions, human rights protection, and employer compliance requirements.

Scene from the 2024 second half foreign seasonal worker employer training in Naju City.
Photo by Naju City

The city expects this training to help foster a proper understanding and efficient operation of the foreign seasonal worker program.

In particular, it is analyzed that the training will greatly contribute to preventing the departure of foreign seasonal workers due to human rights protection and stabilizing agricultural work.

The foreign seasonal worker program is a system that allows legal employment of foreigners for up to 5 months (maximum 8 months) in agricultural sectors that require intensive labor during seasonal periods such as planting and harvesting.

The foreign seasonal worker program promoted by the city assigned 725 workers this year (532 in the first half, 193 in the second half), following 357 workers last year, with 430 workers having arrived and been deployed on-site as of last month.

The remaining workers are scheduled to arrive sequentially.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “The foreign seasonal worker program enables farms to train foreign workers as customized professional personnel, allowing them to utilize skilled rural labor annually,” adding, “We will continue to actively discover and implement various measures to resolve labor shortages in rural areas.”

Meanwhile, since the 8th term of the civilian administration, the city has been operating three Rural Labor Brokerage Centers to alleviate rural labor shortages.

Additionally, the city is promoting various policies such as a public seasonal labor project that brokers foreign seasonal workers to farms and the operation of farming work teams composed of foreigners residing in Korea.

Naju = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yuk-bong baekok@asiae.co.kr