Yangcheon-gu Operates 'Winter Shelter' at Dawn Labor Market

Operation of Waiting Areas for Construction Day Laborers

Yangcheon-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Lee Gi-jae) will operate a 'Winter Dawn Job Shelter' for four months until March next year at two locations near Exit 2 of Sinjeongnegeori Station and in front of Sinwol 3-dong Post Office to improve the poor job-seeking environment for construction day laborers working outdoors in the cold winter.

Yangcheon-gu Dawn Labor Market Winter Shelter (Sinwol-dong) site. Provided by Yangcheon-gu.

The district installed the shelters at two locations where many construction day laborers gather and a dawn labor market has naturally formed: near Exit 2 of Sinjeongnegeori Station and in front of Sinwol 3-dong Post Office. The shelter operation period is from this month until March next year, and the operating hours are from 4:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday for two hours; the shelters are closed on Sundays and public holidays.

The district installed portable heaters and tents at each shelter to block the cold, and assigned two shelter managers per location to be in charge of safety management, maintaining order, and operations. Heating supplies such as hot packs are also provided for construction day laborers seeking jobs in the cold winter labor market.

Since 2009, the district has been operating dawn job shelters during winter and summer in cooperation with the Construction Workers’ Mutual Aid Association to support workers exposed to vulnerable job-seeking environments. The district plans to continuously collect suggestions from users and reflect them in shelter operations to enhance convenience.

District Mayor Lee Gi-jae said, “In a situation where job-seeking conditions are difficult due to the downturn in the construction industry, we opened the winter dawn labor market shelter to provide workers with a warmer job-seeking environment, even if just a little.” He added, “I hope the shelter becomes a comfortable resting place where construction day laborers can wait peacefully during the winter.”