1 in 4 sanitation workers paid less than contracted wage, government survey finds

One in four sanitation workers has been paid less than their contracted wage, a government survey has found. As workers in the sector press the government for direct collective bargaining, authorities are forming a labor-government consultative body to address working conditions.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety recently released results of a comprehensive survey covering 2,462 municipal waste collection, transport and street-cleaning service contracts issued by local governments nationwide over the past three years. The survey was conducted in two rounds from early March through mid-June.

The findings showed that 586 contracts, or 23.8 percent, contained "under-reflection" — meaning the contracts themselves set wages below the legally required adequate level — while 561 cases, or 22.8 percent, involved "underpayment," where workers received less than even the contracted amount.

In addition, 1,625 cases, or 66 percent, involved contractors that did not operate a dedicated labor-cost account, and 364 cases, or 14.8 percent, failed to carry out required procedures to verify that adequate wages had been paid.

The ministry notified each local government of the violations identified during the survey and ordered them to take steps to ensure sanitation workers on ongoing contracts receive adequate wages.

It also asked local governments to conduct audits and directed them to discipline those responsible for unlawful or improper practices and impose penalties on the contractors involved.

A separate report released in December by the Busan Labor Rights Center, based on a survey of 362 sanitation workers in the city, found that 91.7 percent qualified as night-shift workers — defined as those working two or more hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning.

A survey by Rep. Jeong Hye-gyeong of the Progressive Party and the Public Solidarity Union found that 31.5 percent of sanitation workers were assigned to night shifts, and 53 percent said the mandatory three-person crew rule was not being observed during operations.

The hazardous conditions have taken a heavy toll: 8,446 workers were injured last year alone, and 723 died on the job over the past five years.

Municipal waste workers affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) demanded direct bargaining with the government on March 10. The Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the KCTU and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions are holding the first meeting of a Municipal Waste Sector Labor-Government Consultative Body on Thursday.

The KCTU said at the time that the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy oversees the Waste Management Act governing municipal waste disposal and sets wages and working conditions for related workers through official notices. It added that while the ministry is effectively the employer of municipal waste workers, bargaining has not taken place because the ministry's status as an employer has been disputed under Labor Ministry interpretive guidelines.

In response to the demand for direct bargaining, the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy and the Ministry of Employment and Labor proposed forming the consultative body, and the KCTU agreed after consulting with its industry-level unions.

The consultative body will discuss improvements to working conditions for waste collection and transport workers as well as workers at sorting and incineration facilities.

Discussions will center on three main agendas: strengthening public accountability — including improving working conditions and securing employment stability at private contractors entrusted by local governments to handle municipal waste — modernizing work environments, and establishing non-discriminatory working conditions through improvements in staffing, equipment, wages, sanitation and rest facilities.

President Lee Jae Myung had earlier directed officials at a senior staff meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Feb. 19 to "thoroughly investigate the actual situation through audits or comprehensive surveys," in response to concerns raised about local governments failing to comply with regulations requiring adequate wages for sanitation workers.