Prohibition on Changing Workplaces and Fatal Occupational Injuries among Chinese Migrant Workers in South Korea

Abstract

We assessed the risk of fatal occupational injuries among migrant workers with two different types of employment permits in South Korea. This observational study used national data from January 2007 to September 2018 and analyzed 42,089 cases of occupationally injured migrant workers of Chinese nationality. Fatality rates were analyzed according to year, sex, age, occupation, industry, and type of employment permit. Chinese workers were permitted to work for one employer and prohibited from changing employers, whereas Korean-Chinese workers were permitted to change their employer. The adjusted fatality rate of occupational injuries of Chinese migrant workers was significantly higher (1.80-fold, 95% confidence interval 1.31–2.46) than that of Korean-Chinese migrant workers. The prohibition on changing workplaces; male sex; age ≥ 45 years; machine operator; construction industry; and agriculture, livestock, and fisheries industry were risk factors for fatal occupational injuries. The results imply a need for revision of the migrant-worker employment permit systems and implementation of occupational safety and health policies for all workers to promote health equity.

Conveying Safety Messages on Agricultural Machinery: The Comprehension of Safety Pictorials in a Group of Migrant Farmworkers in Italy

“…In accordance with the previous study investigating migrant farmworkers’ interpretation of surround shapes around safety symbols [26], the present results highlighted that the migrants belonging to a ‘European culture’ (Romanians) reported the higher percentages of correct answers when interpreting the meaning of pictorials affixed to agricultural machinery. Very similar results were observed by Hare et al [15] who investigated the effectiveness of safety signs among migrant workers employed in the construction sector in the United Kingdom.…”

“…Pictorial comprehension has been under-investigated in the agricultural sector. Agriculture is indeed one of the most dangerous work sectors, with higher risks of fatal and non-fatal accidents, due to the presence of potentially dangerous machinery, hazardous substances, and dangerous environmental conditions [26,27]. In particular, machinery has been recognized as the main cause of workers’ injuries, mainly because of crushing caused by tractor rollover, cutting from rotating parts of the machinery, accidents during machinery maintenance, and falls occurring when mounting or descending a vehicle [28,29,30].…”

Health literacy and health care experiences of migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

“…Unskilled migrant workers are officially allowed to work in South Korea for a maximum of 4 years and 10 months, after which they must leave the country [6,7]. The limitation on the permitted stay in South Korea means that such migrant workers may feel a need to maximize their earnings during their stay; the resulting pressure may increase the likelihood of their accepting jobs that could potentially expose them to physical and chemical hazards [8,9]. Among migrant workers, poor working conditions increase the risk of workplace injuries and disease and lead to higher rates of adverse health outcomes, when compared with non-migrant workers [10,11].…”

Can Cultural Intelligence Affect Employee’s Innovative Behavior? Evidence From Chinese Migrant Workers in South Korea

“…South Korea, for example, is one of the major destinations for many Asian migrant workers. It is documented that approximately 41.1% (n = 215,665) of the migrant workers in South Korea were of Chinese nationality in September 2018 (Lee and Cho, 2019). If properly managed, the cross-cultural diversity that the workforce mobility brings to organizations can provide a variety of information and resources for innovation by employing effective interaction (Ritter and Gemünden, 2004;Fang et al, 2018;Giorgi et al, 2020).…”