Fair wages that should have been paid to environmental sanitation workers employed by local governments across the country have been cut on a significant scale during the contracting and execution of cleaning services, an investigation found. It was also confirmed that institutional safeguards meant to guarantee fair wages have not been functioning properly.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 15th that it confirmed these findings after conducting a full survey of 2,462 household waste collection, transport and street cleaning service contracts awarded by local governments nationwide over the past three years, following a directive from the president.
According to the ministry, in 586 cases (23.8%) among those surveyed, the fair wages that should have been calculated based on the labor costs reflected when estimating the base price were set too low in the original contract documents. In 561 cases (22.8%), workers were actually paid less than the amount stated in the contract.
In the survey, the government focused on checking whether wages exceeding the level of the labor costs applied at the base price calculation multiplied by the successful bid rate were actually paid, and whether the separate management of labor costs and the payment verification system were being properly operated in the field.
As a result, contracts that did not operate a dedicated account for labor costs accounted for 66.0% (1,625 cases) of the total, while cases that failed to carry out the fair wage payment verification procedure numbered 364 (14.8%).
The government notified each local government of the violation cases identified during the survey and asked them to re-examine the contract details of ongoing projects and take necessary measures to ensure that fair wages are paid to cleaning service workers. Based on the results of this full survey, the government also plans to request audits from each local government to impose disciplinary action on those responsible for illegal or improper matters and disadvantageous measures against the companies involved, and to review the results of those measures.
For problems that are repeatedly identified, the government plans to consult with relevant ministries to develop measures for institutional improvement and stronger management, and to establish the operation of dedicated labor cost accounts and the implementation of payment verification procedures in the field through training for local government officials in charge.
"Guaranteeing fair wages for environmental sanitation workers is a minimum principle for paying just compensation to workers who devote themselves in the invisible corners of our society," said Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung. "We will continue to work closely with local governments to protect the rights and interests of environmental sanitation workers and to establish a fair contract culture in the field."
