A bill imposing fines of up to 5 percent of annual operating profit on companies responsible for three or more workplace fatalities a year has passed a standing committee of the National Assembly. The legislation also provides a legal basis for the government to revoke the registration of construction companies that fail to establish proper safety systems following industrial fatalities.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday that the amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act containing these provisions passed the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee earlier in the day.
The bill centers on imposing stringent economic sanctions on workplaces with repeated serious accidents. It establishes the legal grounds for fines of up to 5 percent of annual operating profit on companies where three or more fatalities occur in a single year. Although the fines will not be applied retroactively, nine companies — including four construction firms — would have been subject to penalties under this standard in 2024. The bill also grants the Labor Ministry authority to request that relevant agencies revoke the registration of construction firms that, after receiving two business suspensions for fatal industrial accidents, face grounds for another suspension. Additional provisions include the establishment of a "Safe Workplace Committee" empowered to draw up basic plans for occupational safety and health, rewards for whistleblowers reporting violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, eased requirements for workers to halt operations, and the addition of heat waves and cold waves as grounds for extending construction periods.
The bill mirrors the framework of the comprehensive labor safety measures the government announced in September last year. "We will make active efforts to ensure the bill passes the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the plenary session of the National Assembly," a Labor Ministry official said. "We will implement the comprehensive labor safety measures without setbacks."
