Kim Tae-jin, Seo-gu Council Member, Points Out Inevitable Additional Hiring Next Year
Starting next year, although the job duties for meal support projects in senior centers have been subdivided, it has been reported that the five autonomous districts in the Gwangju area have assigned personnel for next year according to the existing guidelines, raising concerns that additional hiring will be inevitable.
On the 5th, Kim Tae-jin, a member of the Gwangju Seo-gu Council, claimed that the Ministry of Health and Welfare changed the senior center meal support project, which was conducted as a public service type this year, to limit the public service type to meal distribution and environmental improvement from next year, while food material management and cooking will be promoted as a social service type.
According to Councilor Kim, the five autonomous districts in Gwangju have already completed the allocation of 1,305 personnel for senior center meal provision next year, primarily as a public service type focused on simple meal distribution and environmental improvement support.
Earlier, on the 2nd, the National Assembly plenary session passed the “Partial Amendment to the Senior Welfare Act” which allows the balance of heating and cooling expenses to be used for supplementary food expenses to expand food provision to senior centers five days a week. As the supplementary food budget available to senior centers is expected to increase from next year, the need for additional dedicated personnel has been raised.
Councilor Kim Tae-jin of Seo-gu said, "Considering the balance of heating and cooling expenses in the five autonomous districts of Gwangju last year, about 1 billion KRW is expected to be used for supplementary food expenses this year," adding, "Due to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s change in guidelines for the senior center meal support project, securing meal provision personnel is urgent."
Meanwhile, an analysis by Councilor Kim Tae-jin on the current status of food provision in senior centers across the five autonomous districts of Gwangju found that out of 1,388 senior centers, 1,334 (96.1%) are currently providing meals. The average number of days meals are provided per week was 4.08 days, with Dong-gu at 5 days, Gwangsan-gu at 4.4 days, Seo-gu and Nam-gu at 4 days, and Buk-gu at 3 days.
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