Labor, management, and government representatives examined the conditions of night work in various sectors, including nursing, caregiving, manufacturing, logistics, and delivery, and discussed protective measures.
The Implementation Monitoring Committee for the Roadmap to Reduce Actual Working Hours, composed of labor, management, and government experts, held its ninth meeting on August 24 in Seoul's Jung-gu district. The meeting included discussions with night workers from the medical, caregiving, manufacturing, logistics, and delivery sectors.
Previously, labor, management, and government had included the establishment of health protection measures for night workers in their joint declaration on reducing actual working hours at the end of last year. They agreed to conduct a survey on the conditions of night work and develop measures by the second half of this year.
Before the meeting, the committee visited the Hanjin Daejeon Mega Hub on July 22 to assess the parcel terminal's operational system and working conditions, gathering feedback from loading and unloading workers and company representatives. The scope of the field inspections was expanded to include the medical, caregiving, and manufacturing sectors.
Workers attending the meeting explained that sectors directly related to public life, such as hospitals, caregiving, and logistics, require 24-hour operations, making it difficult to eliminate night work entirely. Instead, they called for the establishment of a healthy working environment for night shifts.
There were differences in the challenges faced by various sectors. Hospital and caregiving workers expressed concerns about insufficient rest and sleep time due to staff shortages. In the logistics and delivery sectors, it was noted that accumulated physical fatigue from night work increases the risk of safety accidents.
However, reasons for choosing night work included the ability to manage childcare during the day and the potential for higher pay compared to daytime shifts.
The committee reached a consensus that 24-hour operations in various fields are essential for maintaining public life. However, they acknowledged that night workers face significant health and safety risks and agreed on the need to establish health protection measures.
As a result, the committee plans to discuss protective measures for night workers, who are at high risk for health and safety issues, based on the findings from the survey and field feedback. Co-chair Baek Gyu-sik stated, "We will continue discussions with labor, management, and experts to establish health protection measures for night workers."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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