The Seoul Metropolitan Council said on the 22nd that it has signed an agreement with HDC Hyundai Development and Habitat for Humanity Korea to improve break rooms used by the city's sanitation workers. The partnership aims to renovate aging facilities so that workers can rest in safe and comfortable conditions.
Under the memorandum of understanding, the three parties will upgrade the facilities and surroundings of sanitation workers' break rooms over three years through 2028.
The council will provide administrative support for the project, while HDC Hyundai Development will fund the work and organize volunteer activities by its employees. Habitat for Humanity Korea will oversee the project as a whole, including coordination and on-site renovation work.
The parties plan to consult on which sites to improve and how to carry out the work, and to identify additional forms of support for sanitation workers beyond the renovation of break rooms.
The council has been pursuing other efforts to improve conditions for sanitation workers. Lim Man-gyun, speaker of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, presented his first commendation after taking office as speaker of the 12th council in August to sanitation workers in the city's 25 districts. On the 6th of this month, the council held a forum to discuss securing adequate staffing levels for sanitation workers and ways to share the financial burden.
"For those who work and sweat in the field, a break room is not simply a place to rest but the most basic space that protects the dignity of labor," Lim said. "We will work with the two organizations to look after the field so that sanitation workers can rest comfortably in a pleasant environment."