Sanitation workers injured and killed in 'solo night' shifts amid lax safety rules

A sanitation worker in Daejeon was injured in a predawn accident on March 20 while collecting food waste alone. The worker, identified as 'Mr. K,' lost consciousness after being struck by a motorcycle while working behind his vehicle. A colleague, Lee Jae-wan, shared photos of the scene, emphasizing the risks of solo night shifts and stating that such accidents "can happen anytime." Lee himself was injured in a traffic accident in 2017 while working alone.

These incidents underscore a growing pattern of accidents, including fatalities, among sanitation workers operating alone at night. On March 7, a sanitation worker in Changsin-dong, Seoul, died after being trapped between his truck and a wall while collecting trash alone. Another accident occurred on March 19 in Yeongcheon, Gyeongbuk Province, where three people died when a cleaning vehicle collided with a dump truck.

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When I work alone at night, the sound of speeding cars makes my spine chill. There's no one to warn me, so accidents happen without any chance to avoid them.

The Waste Management Act's enforcement rules stipulate 'daytime work' and 'three-person team' operations for sanitation workers. However, broad exceptions are permitted "for reasons prescribed by local government ordinances," leading to widespread practices of solo and night work. Kim Jeong-yeol, a sanitation worker in Boryeong, Chungnam Province, recounted working alone at night for 18 months due to a local ordinance that exempted alleyway collection using handcarts from the three-person team requirement. He described the fear of working alone in the dark, facing risks from animals or intoxicated individuals, and the stark difference in judgment compared to having a colleague present.

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The difference between having a colleague watch over you and making a judgment alone is worlds apart. There have been many times I've been startled by animals darting out or finding drunk people lying on the ground in alleys with no streetlights.

Kim's situation was further complicated because the "handcart work" cited in the ordinance was not reflective of the actual work. To cope with the volume of waste and time constraints, Kim and his colleagues purchased a 1-ton truck with their own money to collect waste in alleys, exposing them to greater risks and liability due to outdated regulations and ordinances.

In response to the Changsin-dong fatality on March 7, police are reportedly closing the investigation, classifying it as a simple traffic accident attributed to the worker's own negligence. An official from the Hyehwa Police Station stated that the worker died due to his own fault, having left the gear in 'D' (drive) while collecting trash, leading to the vehicle moving. The police investigation did not include potential negligence by the district office or the contracting company that assigned the work. The Ministry of Employment and Labor will conduct a separate investigation into potential violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

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Excessive workloads and the pressure of time mean we constantly get in and out of the truck all night, creating a constant risk of gear-shifting errors or vehicles rolling on slopes. This is not personal negligence but a structural tragedy created by 'solo night labor.'

Lee Jae-wan argued that the "structural tragedy" was caused by "solo night labor," citing the constant risk of gear-shifting errors or vehicles rolling on slopes due to excessive workloads and the pressure of time, forcing workers to repeatedly get in and out of vehicles throughout the night.

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The accident was caused by the worker's own negligence, so we plan to close the case with 'no prosecution.'