[Editorial] Build on success of Samsung workers’ arbitration case

Posted on : 2015-07-24 16:21 KST Modified on : 2015-07-24 16:21 KST
 head of the arbitration committee in the case of Samsung occupational diseases
head of the arbitration committee in the case of Samsung occupational diseases

An arbitration committee for a resolution to leukemia cases and other diseases associated with Samsung Electronics workplaces, including its semiconductor plants, released a set of recommendations on July 23. There still remains the issue of a final agreement for all parties - Samsung Electronics itself, the family members’ committee for countermeasures on Samsung occupational diseases, and the semiconductor workers’ health and human rights watchdog Banollim. But after so much difficulty bridging differences in the past, it’s welcome to see the arbitration was generally successful. It‘s also quite significant as a step toward a social consensus-based resolution, which comes eight years after the semiconductor worker occupational disease issue first surfaced with the 2007 death of Hwang Yu-mi.

The committee presented resolution ideas for three different issues, namely compensation, an apology, and measures to prevent diseases in the future. Taking preventive action to protect current workers is every bit as urgent as compensating past victims, and appears to reflect an understanding that a public pledge to maintain a healthy workplace is as important as apologizing to individuals who have suffered misfortune already.

The scope of compensation had been one of the most disputed issues, and the end result seems to more or less follow in line with what the victims have been asking for. The original Samsung Electronics plan for compensation really was unreasonable, acknowledging only cases of blood cancer, brain tumors, and breast cancer and requiring workers to have been employed for at least five years. The committee’s recommendation sets the minimum working period at one year and increases the list of conditions to twenty-eight. Also notable is the fact that strict proof of causality will not be required for rare and crippling diseases provided a connection with hazardous materials can be established. Many in the past criticized the industrial accident criteria demanded for semiconductor plant diseases as medically unfeasible, and denounced the irrationality of a system that requires the victim to prove the connection between the working environment and the disease. Hopefully these recommendations will be a step toward fixing that mistake.

One of the recommendations was to put a public interest corporation funded by donations from Samsung Electronics, among others, in charge of compensation and preventive measures. To prevent this kind of unfortunate situation from happening again will require not only Samsung Electronics following its stated internal disaster management system improvement plans to the letter, but also examination and monitoring efforts from outside. If only to allow for an objective analysis of the hazardous material situation at production sites, the principles and standards of information disclosure need to be clearly applied in a way that does not let businesses hide behind “business secrets.” It’s a system that should be applied at other workplaces besides Samsung Electronics.

This arbitration offers a good model for dispute resolution without taking matters to court. Properly working organizations for social consensus can also greatly reduce the social costs of conflict resolution. That’s proven especially true in this case.

 

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