"No Outsourcing to Specialized Companies...
Workload Shifting and Safety Gaps"
"Lessons from the Aricell Disaster: Need for Proactive Risk Assessment"
The Gwangju Teachers' Union has criticized the current system in which responsibility for preventing industrial accidents in schools is assigned solely to principals. The union also pointed out that, among the 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide, only the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education does not outsource this work to a specialized company.
In a statement released on the 18th, the teachers' union said, "Since 2020, schools have also been subject to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, but the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education only assigns principals to handle industrial accident prevention work and requires them to receive just 16 hours of safety and health education per year," adding, "Such brief training is insufficient to develop professional competence." The union further stated, "By assigning risk assessment to principals who lack expertise, the responsibility is being shifted to vice principals, administrative staff, and teachers, resulting in a game of 'passing the bomb.'" The union called for outsourcing to a specialized company.
The union also emphasized, "The Aricell disaster in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, which claimed the lives of 23 workers, was also caused by inadequate risk assessment," and urged, "The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education should take this as a lesson and proactively inspect school facilities for harmful factors."
Sixteen metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide are already outsourcing industrial accident prevention work to specialized companies. The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education plans to assign industrial accident prevention work, including risk assessments, to external organizations starting next year.
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