"Expected to Rest Here?" Sanitation Workers' Breakroom Controversy Sparks Outrage

A ceiling so low that an adult can barely stand upright, and an interior so cramped and makeshift that it looks like a dead-end corner of a building was hastily blocked off.

A facility shown in a video recently posted on an online community has sparked controversy.

This is because it was captured being used as a breakroom for sanitation workers.

According to media reports on August 6, netizens posted critical comments on August 4, such as "If you straighten your back the wrong way, the ceiling is going to break," "It looks like a storage room forced into a remodeling," and "Please tell me this was made with AI (artificial intelligence) instead."

The video from the online community post titled "Controversial Sanitation Workers' Waiting Room" shows a narrow entrance beneath a sign reading "Sanitation Workers' Waiting Room," which requires people to stoop deeply just to enter.

While the inside is equipped with chairs and a refrigerator, the low and narrow ceiling makes it difficult to even stand properly, rendering actual rest seemingly impossible.

The creator of the video expressed frustration with subtitles reading, "I don't get it. Are we supposed to rest or not? Do they really have to make it like this?"

Questions are also being raised as to whether the space in the video only focused on meeting the criteria of the Occupational Safety and Health Act while ignoring actual working conditions.

Critics point out that it merely fulfilled the legal minimum requirements as a formality, completely ignoring the actual working environment and movement pathways.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (Article 128-2), employers are legally obligated to install break facilities for workers.

This system, which began enforcement in August 2022 for workplaces with 50 or more employees, was expanded starting August of the following year to workplaces with 20 or more regular employees, as well as workplaces with 10 or more employees that have two or more workers in vulnerable occupations such as cleaning and sanitation.

Under the current enforcement rules, break facilities must secure a minimum floor area of 6 square meters and a ceiling height of 2.1 meters or more.

In addition, they are stipulated to be equipped with facilities capable of maintaining proper temperatures (18–28℃ / 64–82°F), humidity (50–55%), and lighting (100–200 lux), along with basic supplies such as chairs and drinking water.

Although it is now in the fourth year since the implementation of the system, the actual perceived impact in the field remains minimal.

Critics analyze that because employers only need to install a single breakroom that barely meets the legal minimum standards regardless of the number of workers, its practicality is low.

Kang Seok-hwa, 52, Secretary-General of the Federation of Korean National Trade Unions, said, "Although break facilities have become mandatory, there is a gap with reality because companies only need to build one small breakroom that fits the criteria regardless of the number of workers in the field." He added, "Most sanitation workers work out in the field, but breakrooms are installed in distant locations, leading some workers to say, 'It's better to rest inside a car parked in a nearby public parking lot.'"

Yoo Young-beom, 64, Chairman of the National Sanitation Labor Union, stated, "Even in the case of subway cleaning workers, there are breakrooms without showers or washbasins," adding, "There are still many cases where improvements to break facilities are not made due to lack of space or budget issues."

Experts emphasize that for sanitation workers who endure the monsoon season, scorching heat, and freezing cold outdoors with their bodies, break facilities should be spaces for physical recovery rather than mere waiting rooms.

They point out that effective management and budget support from the government and local authorities are urgently needed to achieve this.

Kim Seong-hee, a professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Labor, pointed out, "If there is no space separated from the workplace where workers can rest, giving them break time is meaningless, which is why the mandate for break spaces was introduced." He added, "Because break spaces were not considered from the initial building design stage and owners try to cut costs, they often end up making do with basements, windowless enclosed spaces, or cramped makeshift facilities."

Professor Kim advised, "Effectiveness can only be achieved when facility cost support from local governments goes hand in hand with government labor inspections," adding, "Sanctions must accompany these measures so that employers do not just take the support and delay choices."

(Photo: Captured from online community 'Ruliweb', Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.