The Korean Federation of Service Workers’ Unions held a press conference at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea on Monday. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Apr. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Employees at department stores and duty-free shops took to the streets claiming their right to use the restrooms at their workplaces normally reserved for customers.
The Korean Federation of Service Workers’ Unions held a press conference at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) on Monday, claiming that health rights of workers at department stores and duty-free shops are at risk.
The federation showed that 77 percent of department store and duty-free shop employees have been instructed not to use customer-only restrooms, and were asked instead to use toilets reserved for staff members, usually located far away from where they actually work.
“Female employees at department stores and duty-free shops were 3.2 times more likely than others to suffer from bladder infections due to a lack of easy access to restrooms,” said the federation.
“The Ministry of Employment and Labor also sent out requests to department stores and duty-free shops to take appropriate measures to improve access to the restrooms, but these changes have yet to be made.”
The federation argued that depriving employees of the right to use customer-only restrooms is a violation of a fundamental right, vowing to continue the protest until appropriate changes are made.
The federation also plans to submit a petition to the NHRCK.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
