With the government saying it will toughen the foreign worker hiring restriction to three years for corporations where even one foreign worker dies, the construction industry is on edge.
In the construction industry, where foreign labor makes up a large share, there are concerns that if the hiring restriction continues for three years, small corporations will be hit so hard they may have to shut down. Large builders also said that if a foreign worker dies, they will face labor shortages, making schedule extensions and cost increases inevitable.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor on 15th announced a comprehensive labor safety plan for "workplaces without accidents, a safe Korea." Looking at the measures applied to construction companies, it revised related laws so that if a business site that received two suspensions in the past three years has another accident, its registration can be canceled and it can be expelled from the market. If the construction company's registration is canceled, it must halt all business activities, including participation in new projects, order intake, and subcontracting contracts.
In particular, if an accident occurs in which a foreign worker dies, the business site will be restricted from hiring for three years. If an illness or injury corresponding to a serious accident occurs, hiring foreign workers will be restricted for one year. The unit of restriction will also be changed from the site level to the employer level, further strengthening sanctions when an industrial accident occurs or an undocumented migrant is hired.
The share of foreign workers among domestic construction site workers is growing. According to the Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association (CW), last year, of the total 1,560,400 workers at domestic construction sites, 229,541 were foreign workers (14.7%). The foreign worker share, which was 11.8% in 2020, rose by nearly 3 percentage points (p) in four years.
The share of foreign workers among those who die while working at domestic construction sites is also not small. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's "first-half industrial accident status" released on 3rd, the number of deaths from construction accidents was 138. Of these, 18 were foreign nationals, accounting for about 13%.
Construction companies pointed out that if the measures take effect, disruptions are likely at domestic construction projects that rely heavily on foreign labor for staffing. They said they agree with the government's aim to strengthen safety, but criticized the step as excessively harsh.
An official at corporation A said, "Even now it is not easy to secure domestic workers at construction sites in Korea, so the share of foreign workers reaches 60% to 70% at some sites," adding, "If even one foreign worker dies, we will be barred from hiring foreign workers for three years, and without foreign labor we can no longer complete projects within the set construction period."
An official at corporation B also said, "The construction market has not recovered, and external conditions are worsening with low profit margins on projects, the Yellow Envelope Act, and climate change," adding, "Policies to reinvigorate the slump-hit construction industry are urgently needed, but restricting foreign hiring for as long as three years when a foreign worker dies will choke construction companies."
A construction industry official, identified as C, said, "Aversion to construction work is pronounced, so in simple labor roles the share of foreign workers is high," adding, "If foreign hiring is restricted, in the end we will have to hire higher-wage domestic workers, making cost increases due to higher labor expenses unavoidable."
Construction companies warned that the increased expense from foreign hiring restrictions could be reflected in sale prices and passed on to end homebuyers. Some also said delays may occur due to staffing issues, or groundbreakings could be disrupted.
An official at midsize builder D said, "The latest measures are contradictory, as they run counter to the government's current push to expand dwellings supply," adding, "It is questionable whether sanction-focused steps like hiring restrictions can ensure safety on sites."
An official at small builder E criticized, "So focused on preventing safety accidents, the government has made construction companies a prime target and is unleashing punitive regulations based on hindsight," adding, "There are no measures or responsibilities from the government to support accident prevention, such as work hours or safety management expense, and it is placing all blame for accidents on construction companies."
The official added, "From excavation to rebar, concrete, plastering, wallpapering, and flooring, construction sites simply cannot avoid using foreign workers, so saying we must shut down immediately if an accident happens is no different from telling us to close," adding, "We cannot replace all laborers with robots, nor can we assign one manager to each foreign worker."