Starting this week, ‘Guaranteeing at least 20 minutes of rest every 2 hours during heat waves’ becomes mandatory
The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 11th that the revised ‘Rules on Occupational Safety and Health Standards’, which includes the mandatory provision of ‘20 minutes or more of rest every 2 hours (when the perceived temperature is 33 degrees or higher)’, passed the regulatory review at the Regulatory Reform Committee meeting.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to swiftly complete follow-up procedures such as the legal review of the revised bill and promulgate and implement the ‘Rules on Occupational Safety and Health Standards’ within the next week.
The Regulatory Reform Committee faithfully reflected the recommendations of the Ministry of Employment and Labor in the previous review, and especially, in recognition of the need to protect the lives and health of workers due to the spread of heat waves exceeding the average temperature this summer, agreed to the original draft of the rule revision, such as providing periodic breaks when the perceived temperature is 33 degrees or higher.
In addition, the Regulatory Reform Committee faithfully prepared and implemented a plan for policy support and promotion, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises that are expected to have difficulty complying with the rules, and requested that an on-site survey be conducted on the enforcement status and on-site responses after the rules were implemented.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to focus on promoting the main points of the revised ‘Rules on Industrial Safety and Health Standards’.
First, the Ministry will actively promote the ‘5 Basic Heat Wave Safety Rules’ that must be followed at the workplace, such as cold water, air conditioning systems, resting for more than 20 minutes every two hours, providing cooling equipment, and reporting to 119, through all possible media.
In addition, we will conduct surprise guidance and inspections on compliance with the ‘5 Basic Heat Wave Safety Rules’ centered on 60,000 high-risk workplaces for heat waves.
In particular, we will invest 35 billion won including the supplementary budget by the end of July to complete the distribution of mobile air conditioners, etc. that are in high demand at small businesses, and actively improve any areas that require improvement while closely monitoring the actual conditions at the site during the execution process.
The Vice Minister of Employment and Labor stated, “Heat waves are unavoidable, but heat-related illnesses are a risk that can be prevented in advance if both labor and management pay attention and do their best at industrial sites.” He added, “We will mobilize all administrative power to ensure that the 5 Basic Heat Wave Safety Rules, especially the provision of at least 20 minutes of rest every two hours during heat waves, are strictly observed as they are legally mandatory.”
[Editor Lee]
