On the 27th, SPC Group announced that it will limit night shifts for production workers to within 8 hours to eliminate 'long working hours at night.'
According to SPC Group, it convened an emergency meeting of the 'SPC Committee,' which consists of the CEOs of its affiliates, on this day and announced that it will initiate a complete reform of the production system. A spokesperson for SPC Group noted, "To abolish night shifts exceeding 8 hours, we plan to completely change the overall production structure through workforce expansion, adjustments to production items and volumes, and line restructuring. Each company will prepare implementation plans to fully enforce this starting from October 1st."
To this end, SPC Group decided to reduce factory operating hours by eliminating night production as much as possible, except for essential items due to product characteristics. It plans to gradually reduce daytime working hours to proactively block fatigue accumulation and risks of accidents due to decreased concentration caused by long working hours.
Furthermore, it will consult with labor unions to ensure that this new work system can be stably implemented. Particularly, it plans to promote training and manual revisions to minimize confusion during the work system reform and transition processes.
A spokesperson for SPC Group stated, "We took the criticisms and concerns regarding long working hours at night in the production site seriously and decided to push for reforms across the entire production system, including working conditions," adding, "We will actively improve and invest to create a workplace where the safety of workers is prioritized."
This decision by SPC Group follows discussions at a meeting held on the 25th at the SPC Samlip Siheung factory, chaired by President Lee Jae-myung, where night work and the intensity of labor were pointed out as causes of recurrent industrial accidents. At the time, President Lee specifically inquired about the timeline and shift hours of an accident that resulted in a worker's death due to entrapment that occurred in May.
In particular, President Lee noted that all the fatal accidents involving SPC workers that have occurred in the past three years happened in the early morning, saying, "I doubt whether it is possible to work four nights a week from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. for 12 hours straight."
He further remarked, "I am also a victim of industrial accidents, and even after many years, there are still many workers dying on the job. There is a problem when the same accidents repeat in the same workplace," adding, "If safety and life are sacrificed for money and expense, that really needs to change."
Additionally, he urged, "It would be good to provide realistic and specific measures to reduce the industrial accident death rate, not only for the incidents that occurred here."