Workers dying from overwork in the middle of a summer heat wave

Cheong-hee Yu(KILSH) 

JUL 23 2023

中文    한국어    日本語

Protecting worker health during a heat wave that doesn't work

In South Korea, overwork is described by the Ministry of Labor. The Ministry of Labor's notice identifies working hours and various aggravating factors of workload as necessary to determine whether changes in workload, time, intensity, responsibilities, and work environment are sufficient to lead to short-term or chronic overwork.

The notice recognizes that the association between work and illness increases with longer work hours if the average weekly work hours exceed 52 hours per week in the 12 weeks prior to outbreak. The association between work and illness is rated as "strong" if the workload aggravating factors (unpredictable work schedule, shift work, lack of holidays, exposure to hazardous work environment, high physical demands, etc.) are added to the equation. The association is also rated as "strong" if the workload exceeds 60 hours per week on average in the 12 weeks preceding the onset of illness (64 hours per week on average in the 4 weeks preceding the onset of illness). These are examples, so it cannot be mechanically said that something isn't an occupational illness if it doesn't fit. Even if the absolute duration of the illness was not long, it could still be recognized as overwork if the death was caused by high labor intensity or exposure to a hazardous work environment.

A heat wave in the middle of summer is a serious factor in itself that can endanger a worker's life. In addition, even if the worker is doing the same intensity of work, extreme weather such as heat increases the strain on the body. In such cases, employers should reduce the intensity of work, keep workers well-hydrated, and ensure that they get enough breaks in the shade. These are really basic measures. But in many places, even these are not followed. As a result, workers have suffered from heat illnesses such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat fainting, and even death.

Severe labor violations that led to the death of a young worker

On June 19, when a heat advisory was issued, a young worker died while organizing carts in the parking lot of a popular hypermarket in Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do. His cause of death was a pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolism is a condition in which a blood clot formed in a vein travels through a blood vessel and blocks a pulmonary artery. The parking lot of the hypermarket where he worked was like the outside of a building, with an entire wall open to the sun and outside heat. According to the labor union, the first and second floors of the parking lot where the worker worked were heated not only by the heat of the vehicles, but also by the air conditioning units inside, which further increased the temperature. The government requires employers to give workers a 10-minute break every hour when a heat advisory is issued, but this was not in effect at this site.

The worker had taken a total of 43,000 steps between 11 a.m. and around 9 p.m. two days before his death. The day before his death, he took 37,000 steps and traveled 22 kilometers. On the day of his death, he traveled 17.4 kilometers in about seven hours. According to the union, the supermarket's work rules prohibit pushing more than six shopping carts at a time, but due to chronic labor shortages, workers were forced to push more than 20 carts in rows. The lack of rest breaks was also a problem, with workers working at high intensity without adequate rest, leading to their deaths. Labor unions have been fighting for measures to protect workers during heat waves and to increase staffing.

According to the Ministry of Labor, a total of 152 workers were injured(23 died) due to heat-related illnesses in the five-year period from 2018 to 2022. Of these, 79 were in the construction industry, accounting for more than half of the total, and workers are suffering from heat-related illnesses in various industries, including manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and telecommunications. And according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's 2023 Emergency room surveillance system report on heat illness, as of July 31, there were 1,191 cases of heat illness this year alone. On July 31 alone, there were 67 cases of heat illness.

Workers have been dying not only at hypermarkets but also at construction sites and logistics centers due to inadequate measures in the face of heat waves that will intensify due to the accelerating climate crisis. Many workers have already demanded a reduction in work intensity and the hiring of additional staff. Employers should accept this and create environments with good ventilation and air conditioning. They should also take more frequent breaks than usual. With these conditions in place, there will be no more overworked workers dying in the heat. Managing heat and labor intensity according to workers' bodies is urgent.