Small businesses not ready for workplace safety law
A controversial pro-labor safety act will harm the interests of small business owners, as most of them are not ready to allocate relevant budgets or hire personnel in order to better abide by the law, which punishes employers for any serious workplace-related accidents, Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik told reporters during a press conference, Monday.
The remarks came in reaction to the expanded enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act on small businesses — in which the number of employees is more than five but less than 50. The act took effect on Jan. 27 after the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach a consensus on giving an additional two-year grace period.
“It is regretful that the law became effective without any further grace period, even if we delivered desperate appeals for the need to delay it again,” Sohn said. The focus of the act should be on the prevention of such workplace accidents, not the punishment of employers, according to the KEF chief.
He raised concerns over the negative domino effect of the act.
“When heads or employers of small businesses are arrested for violating the act, the companies will collapse and their workers will, subsequently, lose their jobs,” Sohn said. “It sounds complacent that punishment can be a cure-all to prevent accidents in the workplace. Any labor reform should win a national consensus before it becomes effective.”
He urged the National Assembly to review its revision, before unprepared small firms fall victim to the act.
In 2022, the act took effect on businesses with more than 50 employees, but those with less than 50 were given a two-year grace period. Under the act, business owners will face a prison term of more than one year or fines of less than 1 billion won ($748,000), when one of their employees loses their lives in the workplace. They will also be punished if more than two employees are injured requiring more than six months of treatment.
According to data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of small firms reached 837,000 nationwide.