Labor Standards Act training for school support workers

The labor ministry said Tuesday that Hanguk Goyong Nodong Gyoyugwon will provide intensive Labor Standards Act training for about 700 school support workers in the second half, citing continuing labor-rights violations and disputes among workers.

Participants, including union officials, will be selected separately by city and provincial education offices nationwide.

Classes will cover the status and changes in school labor relations as well as individual provisions of the Labor Standards Act, including working hours, holidays, leave, wages and retirement benefits.

About 170,000 school support workers nationwide work at schools and education institutions. They carry out work from cooking and meal service to care, special-education student assistance, and education and administrative support.

"As a specialized public labor education institution, we will do our utmost to help school support workers strengthen their ability to protect their rights and foster a workplace culture where labor is respected," Lee Jong-seon, head of the institute, said.

The institute has provided education aimed at raising school support workers' labor-rights awareness and establishing an appropriate school labor culture since 2004.