More than four in 10 workers are required to report to work on time and perform their usual duties even during natural disasters such as heavy rain or typhoons, according to a survey by a civic group.
Gabjil 119, a workers' rights group, commissioned polling firm Global Research to survey 1,000 workers aged 19 or older nationwide from the 1st to the 9th of last month, the group said on the 26th. Of the respondents, 43.8% said that adjustments to their commuting hours are "not guaranteed" during natural disasters.
The share of those who said commuting-hour adjustments are not guaranteed was 49.8% among non-regular workers, 10 percentage points higher than the 39.8% among regular workers.
Gabjil 119 explained that "looking more closely within the non-regular category, the more unstable the employment—such as daily workers and in-house subcontractors—or the lower the wages and the smaller the workplace, the more severely workers were excluded from work adjustments during disasters."
Even when the government recommended adjusting commuting hours because of natural disasters, a considerable number of workers still went to work as usual. Of the respondents, 38.4% said they had gone to work as usual under company instructions despite government recommendations for telecommuting or adjusted commuting hours due to natural disasters such as typhoons, heavy rain, heavy snow, or earthquakes.
There were also cases of workers facing penalties for being late due to natural disasters. About one in seven respondents said they had personally experienced a penalty for being late because of a natural disaster or had witnessed a colleague suffer such a penalty.
By contrast, 65.4% of all respondents said workers should be able to choose their own work arrangements or refuse dangerous work when a natural disaster occurs.
Gabjil 119 noted that "the Ministry of Employment and Labor currently recommends telecommuting or staggered commuting when heat wave or heavy rain warnings are in effect, but these are only recommendations, and there is no basis for penalizing employers who fail to comply." The group added, "Guaranteeing the right to stop when danger is detected during commuting or work is what can prevent workers from losing their lives on the job."
