Customized Safety Education for Directors of 106 Daycare Centers
Daycare Center Safety Training Prioritized This Year
Mayor Lee Donghwan: "The Serious Accident Punishment Act Aims at Prevention, Not Punishment"
Goyang Special City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) announced on the 26th that it conducted a ‘Customized Safety and Health Education’ to prevent serious industrial accidents for the directors of 106 national and public daycare centers (hereinafter referred to as daycare centers) on the 25th.
Goyang Special City conducted a 'Customized Safety and Health Education' program on the 25th for the directors of 106 national and public daycare centers (hereinafter daycare centers) to prevent major industrial accidents. Provided by Goyang Special City
This education was prepared to help frontline daycare centers thoroughly understand the Serious Accident Punishment Act, which was implemented in January 2022, and to prevent safety accidents in daycare centers.
According to the Serious Accident Punishment Act, if a fatality or serious injury or illness occurs to a ‘worker’ within a workplace, the business owner or management responsible for neglecting safety and health obligations will be punished. From January 27, 2024, the scope of the law will expand to workplaces with 5 to fewer than 50 employees, including national and public daycare centers.
However, many daycare centers are struggling to understand and prepare for the law, and some perceive the Serious Accident Punishment Act as a law applicable only to construction sites and manufacturing industries.
In this education for daycare center directors, the city delivered expert knowledge about serious industrial accidents in an easy-to-understand manner and presented systematic safety and health management plans for daycare centers.
Additionally, in cooperation with the Goyang-Paju branch of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the city provided education by highly qualified expert instructors to further strengthen the safety and health management capabilities within the facilities.
In particular, the city conducted this education for daycare centers first among the five customized safety and health education sessions planned for this year, reflecting the city’s policy of prioritizing the creation of a safe and comfortable childcare environment for children. Goyang City also received the ‘Best City for Raising Children’ award last year through such leading childcare support policies.
One participant in the education said, “The Serious Accident Punishment Act contained many terms and contents applicable to general industrial sites, making it difficult to understand, but this education was very helpful.”
Mayor Lee Dong-hwan of Goyang Special City emphasized, “The Serious Accident Punishment Act aims not at punishing safety accidents but at prevention. Accidents happen unexpectedly, but through repetitive and periodic education and training, damage to life and property can be minimized.”
He added, “Now that education and training on safety are not optional but essential, we will thoroughly establish a safety net starting with daycare centers, which are most vulnerable to accidents.”
Meanwhile, besides this education for directors of national and public daycare centers, the city plans to conduct customized safety and health education for various groups and fields, such as ▲contracting, service, and consignment project managers ▲city-affiliated frontline workers and supervisors, in cooperation with the Goyang-Paju branch of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.
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