Suncheon lawmaker calls for safer working conditions for sanitation workers

Resolution urging system reforms for sanitation workers adopted

The Suncheon City Council has taken up a resolution urging institutional reforms to ensure safer working conditions for sanitation workers.

At the first plenary session of its 299th regular session on Monday, the council adopted a resolution — introduced by Council Member Kim Mi-young — calling on the government to improve the safety regime for workers who collect and transport household waste.

In presenting the proposal, Kim said sanitation workers are essential laborers who handle household waste collection, transport and street cleaning, yet remain exposed to a range of hazards including late-night shifts, understaffing, roadside work and repeated boarding and alighting from vehicles.

She cited fatal accidents involving sanitation workers in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, in August, arguing the deaths should be viewed not as cases of individual negligence but as evidence of structural safety failures at household waste collection and transport sites.

Kim said that while the current enforcement rules under the Waste Management Act require daytime operations and three-person crews including a driver as the standard, even unavoidable exceptions must be backed by adequate safety measures — including appropriate staffing, adjusted working hours, and stronger vehicle and safety equipment standards.

She also said safety standards and treatment for workers must not be allowed to deteriorate in privately contracted cleaning services, adding that responsible oversight is needed across all aspects of outsourced operations, including on-site safety management, fair wage payment and labor cost administration.

Through the resolution, the council urged the government and the National Assembly to tighten eligibility requirements for exceptions to the daytime and three-person crew rule, expand fiscal and administrative support to upgrade safety equipment on waste collection vehicles and replace aging vehicles while securing adequate safety personnel and protective gear, and establish stronger safety standards and oversight mechanisms for private contractors along with proper wage and labor cost management systems.

Kim said respect for sanitation workers must translate into safety, and gratitude must be demonstrated through policy and institutional action. "Work can be outsourced, but responsibility for workers' lives and safety cannot," she said.