A RESEARCH ON SAFETY OF FOREIGN WORKERS WHO WORK IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN SOUTH KOREA AND TURKEY

AND EMPLOYER’S LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Professor Fahrettin Korkmaz (Ataturk University, Faculty of Law)

Prefossor Park Dal Jae

(Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Department of Safety Engineering)

Ph.D student Serdar Korkmaz

(Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Department of Safety Engineering)

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Contents

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1. Methodology

2. Introduction of construction and construction safety

3. Reasons for migration to Turkey and Korea

4. Employments of foreign workers

5. Employer’s legal responsibilities in Turkey and Korea

6. Official safety statistics of foreign construction workers in

Turkey and Korea

7. Questionnaire and Correlation analysis

8. Summary

1. Methodology

• Foreign construction workers and construction safety. • Turkish and Korean Ministry of Labour, KOSHA, CAK and ISGUM(Turkish Health and Safety Institute). •Turkish and Korean Occupational Health and Safety Act • Books, previous studies, journal articles, local news, websites and works of previous researchers. • Questionnaire survey and statistical analysis.

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2. Introduction of Construction Industry:

• One of the most significant industries in terms of safety.

• Undetected and unreported accidents in construction

industry.

• The big problem is changing work environment

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3. Reasons for Migration:

A- Migration to Turkey:

• Economic, politics problems caused migration to Turkey.

• Immigration from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Syria, Armenia,

Russia, Georgia and Central Asian Turkic Countries and China

recently.

• Korean, Japanese, Chinese and European construction

companies on some projects in Turkey.

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B- Migration to Korea:

• Labour force importing country.

• Used to be migrant source country.

• Low birth rate and cost of domestic labour caused shortages in 3D

jobs.

• Mainly immigrants are from China, Vietnam, Thailand, the

Philippines, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, the US.

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4. Employments of foreign workers: A- Employments of foreign workers in Turkey:

•Work permits are given by Ministry of Labour and Social Security or Turkish

Consulates.

•Health and Safety Act has been changed and improved recently years.

•With new regulations employer’s responsibilities on safety and health ay work

became more significant.

•Similar duties of employers in Korean and Turkish Occupational Health and

Safety Acts.

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B- Employments of foreign workers in Korea:

• The Construction Association of Korea is the main official body for supplying foreign construction workers.

• First, Industrial Training visa (D3) in order to work in Korea.

•After training, Non-professional Employment (E-9) Visa and

Employment Permit for Foreign Worker are needed.

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B- Employments of foreign workers in Korea:

• Foreign workers from a country that has signed

MOU(memorandum of understanding ) with Korea should pass these steps;

• ① pass the Korean Language Proficiency Test, • ② Register in the list of foreigners seeking jobs, • ③ sign a labor service agreement, • ④ get a visa, • ⑤ enter the country, • ⑥ complete alien registration, • ⑦ complete vocational training for foreigners

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5. Employer’s Legal Responsibilities in Turkey and Korea:

•Occupational Health and Safety Act No.6331 in Turkey and

Occupational Safety and Health Act No. 10968 in Korea

•In general, prevent accidents at work place.

•Safety trainings should be organised and given.

•A safe work place shall be designed for workers.

•Protective equipment shall be supplied by employers.

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5. Employers Legal Responsibilities in Turkey and Korea:

•Specific duties of employing foreign workers in Korea and Turkey.

•Health and Safety rules and signs in foreign languages, according

to Acts of Safety.

•These Acts also bring obligation to employers to deliver safety

trainings in languages that their employees can understand.

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5. Employers Legal Responsibilities in Turkey and Korea:

•Employer who doesn’t follow the rules may be punished by a

fine or even imprisoned.

•Failing to provide safety educations and safety signs in different

languages 5 thousands US Dollars.

6. Official Construction Safety Statistics in Turkey and Korea:

Accidents involving foreign construction workers in Turkey:

Year

Number of accidents in Construction sites Construction Workers in Turkey

Number of accidents

(Foreign Construction)

Workers

Number of accidents

(Turkish Construction Workers)

Foreigner Turkish Total

Accidents Accident rate Accidents Accident

rate

2010 11 1.5 6.437 0.39 732 1,630,109 1,630,841

2011 18 1.33 7.749 0.53 1,350 1,448,941 1,450,291

Total 29 1.4 14.186 0.5 2,082 3,079,050 3,081,132

(Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 2012 – Turkey)

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Accidents involving foreign construction workers in Korea:

Accidents/Deaths 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Total

Domestic

(Korean)

Accident 86,180 90,585 92,590 98,645 93,292 461,292

Death 2,319 2,305 2,080 2,200 2,114 11,018

Foreigner

Accident 3,967 5,221 5,231 5,599 6,509 26,527

Death 87 117 101 96 111 512

KOSHA, Korea 13.09.2012

Sector Accidents (2011)

Manufacturing 4,331

Construction 1,149

Service Industries 869

Other 160

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7. Surveying Health and Safety for Foreign Construction Workers: Questionnaire and Correlation Analysis

1. Nationality

2. Sex a. Male b. Female

3. Age

a. 18-20 b. 20-25 c. 25-30 d. 30-35

e. 35-40 f. 40-45 g. 45-50 h. 50-55

i. 55-60 j. older than 60

4. How long have you been working in

construction industry?

a. less than 1 year b. 1-2 years

c. 2-5 years d. 5-10 years

e. more than 10 years

5. Education level a. Elementary b. Middle School

c. High School d. University

6. Duty

7. Are you married? a. Yes b. No

8. How many children have you got?

9. The city you work in

10. How long have you been living in

Korea?

a. less than 1 year b. 1-2 years

c. 2-5 years d. 5-10 years

e. more than 10 years

11. Did you have safety education? a. Yes b. No

12. Have you ever had an accident in a

construction site? a. Yes b. No

13. What was your job in your home

country?

14. Korean language ability a. not at all b. poor c. intermediate

d. good e. very good

Please tick the appropriate box to show your level of agreement with each of the following statements.

ATTITUDE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

Strongly

Disagree

Disagree Neither agree

or disagree Agree Strongly Agree

1. Senior management is fully committed to health and

safety. 1 2 3 4 5

1. Staffs are blamed when they make mistakes. 5 4 3 2 1

1. The company is interested in my opinions about health

and safety. 1 2 3 4 5

1. Management places a high priority on health and safety. 1 2 3 4 5

1. Supervisors turn a blind eye to unsafe behavior. 5 4 3 2 1

1. Health and Safety procedures are much too stringent in

relation to the risk. 5 4 3 2 1

1. My workmates would criticize me for breaking the health

and safety rules. 1 2 3 4 5

1. I am given adequate h ealth and safety trainings. 1 2 3 4 5

1. Little is done to prevent accidents until someone gets

injured. 5 4 3 2 1

1. Everyone wears their protective equipment when they are

supposed to. 1 2 3 4 5

1. Action is rarely taken when someone breaks the health

and safety rules. 5 4 3 2 1

1. I fully understand the health and safety instructions that

relate to my job. 1 2 3 4 5

1. Time pressures for completing jobs are reasonable. 1 2 3 4 5

1. I was involved in risk assessments relating to my work. 1 2 3 4 5

1. Staffs are praised for working safely. 1 2 3 4 5

1. Action has been taken on the basis of risk assessment

findings. 1 2 3 4 5

1. The risk controls do not get in the way of my doing my

job. 1 2 3 4 5

1. Knocks and bruises are bound the happen at work no

matter how careful you are. 5 4 3 2 1

1. Health and safety briefings are very useful. 1 2 3 4 5

1. My workmates take risks that I would not take myself. 5 4 3 2 1

1. Accidents that happen here are always reported. 1 2 3 4 5

1. Some health and safety rules are only there to protect

management’s back. 5 4 3 2 1

1. The permit-to-work system leads to unnecessary delays in

getting the job done. 5 4 3 2 1

1. I know that if I follow the safety procedures I will not get

hurt. 1 2 3 4 5

1. The use of personal protective equipment is strictly

enforced. 1 2 3 4 5

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Number of foreign construction workers who participated in the survey: Questionnaire and Correlation Analysis

Responders Origin Number of responders Effective

Foreign workers

(Blue-collars)

China(including Korean

ethnics) 97

Responded: 129

Effective: 93.8%

Vietnam 13

Kazakhstan 4

Bangladesh 3

Thailand 3

Pakistan 1

Sub total 121

Foreign workers

(White-collars)

China(including Korean

ethnics) 7

Responded: 19

Effective: 100%

the Philippines 4

Kazakhstan 3

Vietnam 2

Bangladesh 1

Kyrgyzstan 1

India 1

Sub total 19

Total 140 Effective: 95.9%

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Language ability of foreign construction workers: Questionnaire and Correlation Analysis

Korean language

ability Not at all Poor Intermediate Good Very good

Country Number of foreign workers

China(Including

Ethnic Koreans) 0 13 11 49 31

Vietnam 0 1 7 5 2

Kazakhstan 1 0 1 4 1

the Philippines 2 2 0 0 0

Bangladesh 0 3 1 0 0

Thailand 1 0 1 1 0

Kyrgyzstan 0 0 0 1 0

Pakistan 0 0 1 0 0

India 1 0 0 0 0

Total 5 19 22 60 34

Percentage (%) 3.57 13.6 15.71 42.86 24.29

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Correlation analysis:

Correlation factors Accident Age Experience Education

Interest of mgt on H&S -.086 -.031 -.142 -.035

Mistake blaming -.087 .086 .002 .026

Interest in individual opinion on H&S .049 .026 -.003 -.125

Priority of mgt on H&S -.104 -.140 -.029 -.008

Supervisor’s blind eye to unsafe behaviour -.006 .110 .094 .065

Strict procedure in ration to the risk .052 -.123 -.056 .164

Workmate’s blaming .078 .035 -.033 -.161

Adequate H&S training -.019 -.077 -.062 .019

Indifference to prevent accident -.015 .031 .142 .109

Protective equipment wearing -.067 -.098 -.075 -.033

Rule braking, no action -.115 .158 .105 .025

Knowledge on instruction -.171* -.017 -.103 -.098

Need of time pressure .020 -.150 -.077 -.103

Risk rating involve .031 -.013 -.089 -.198*

Praise for safe behaviour -.005 -.100 -.033 -.091

Action based on risk rating result .001 -.239** -.040 -.101

Risk control reasonable -.004 -.330** -.198* -.026

Bruise inevitable .046 .099 .039 -.080

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Correlation analysis:

Correlation factors Accident Age

Interest of mgt on H&S -.086 -.031

Mistake blaming -.087 .086

Interest in individual opinion on H&S .049 .026

Priority of mgt on H&S -.104 -.140

Supervisor’s blind eye to unsafe behaviour -.006 .110

Strict procedure in ration to the risk .052 -.123

Workmate’s blaming .078 .035

Adequate H&S training -.019 -.077

Indifference to prevent accident -.015 .031

Protective equipment wearing -.067 -.098

Rule braking, no action -.115 .158

Knowledge on instruction -.171* -.017

Need of time pressure .020 -.150

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Correlation analysis:

Correlation factors Workmate’s blaming

Adequate H&S

training

Indifference to prevent

accident

Protective equipment

wearing

Interest of mgt on H&S .111 .457** .178* .417**

Mistake blaming -.202* .005 .304** .036

Interest in individual opinion on H&S .332 .350** -.092 .203*

Priority of mgt on H&S .082 .521** .281** .450**

Supervisor’s blind eye to unsafe

behaviour .163 .204* .476** .180*

Strict procedure in ration to the risk -.260** -.151 .199* -.114

Workmate’s blaming 1 .246 .188* .086

Adequate H&S training .246** 1 .163 .383**

Indifference to prevent accident -.188* .163 1 .270**

Protective equipment wearing .086 .383** .270** 1

Rule braking, no action -.208 .164 .606** .031

Knowledge on instruction .205* .260** .156 .429**

Need of time pressure .078 .221** .118 .359**

Risk rating involve .564** .149 -.147 .137

Praise for safe behaviour .348** .418** .083 .376**

Action based on risk rating result .065 .324** .118 .493**

Risk control reasonable -.035 -.048 -.087 .189*

Bruise inevitable -.064 .062 .159 -.072

Useful briefing .363** .272** .055 .273**

Workmate takes risk .076 .205 .030 -.162

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Correlation analysis:

Correlation factors Need of time

pressure Risk rating involve

Praise for safe

behaviour

Action based on

risk rating result

Risk control

reasonable Bruise inevitable

Interest of mgt on H&S .123 .039 .304** .348** .065 -.026

Mistake blaming -.057 -.227** .130 .161 -.084 .137

Interest in individual opinion on

H&S .203* .202* .307** .201* .038 .240**

Priority of mgt on H&S .321** .083 .426** .488** .116 .162

Supervisor’s blind eye to unsafe

behaviour .010 .037 .264** .202* -.238** .052

Strict procedure in ration to the risk -.059 -.148 -.053 .012 .271** .164

Workmate’s blaming .078 .564** .348** .065 -.035 -.064

Adequate H&S training .221** .149 .418** .324** -.048 .062

Indifference to prevent accident .118 -.147 .083 .118 -.087 .159

Protective equipment wearing .369** .137 .376** .493** .189* -.072

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Correlation analysis:

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Correlation factors Accident Age Experience Education Safety

Training Language ability

Interest of mgt on H&S -.086 -.031 -.142 -.035 .093 .018

Mistake blaming -.087 .086 .002 .026 .085 .217**

Interest in individual opinion on H&S .049 .026 -.003 -.125 .054 .046

Useful briefing -.050 -.006 -.080 -.052 .082 -.033

Workmate takes risk -.079 .289** .215* -.198* .115 .231**

Accident reported .044 -.194* -.021 .058 .098 -.071

Superficial safety rules -.113 .041 .132 -.043 .100 -.204

Permit system .094 -.111 -.001 .110 -.139 -.171*

Need of safety procedure .058 -.272** -.095 .086 .073 -.138

Protective equip obligatory -.120 -.101 -.140 .012 -.062 -.085

8. Summary

•In general, legal responsibilities of employers in Turkey and Korea have been

explained to prevent accidents at work place.

•Specific duties have been identified for employers that should be perform in

case of employing foreign workers.

•And lastly, Foreign construction workers’ attitude to safety in Korean

workplaces has tested with an attitude questionnaire survey and two different

analyses have been practised to determine the points that need to be

considered.

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End of the presentation

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