| A member of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions speaks during a press conference at Seoul National University, Seoul, Wednesday, criticizing the school for workplace bullying that allegedly led to the death of a female janitor. Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
The death of a female janitor at Seoul National University has been met with allegations that she met her demise as a result of workplace bullying by her supervisor.
A woman in her 50s was found dead in the staff lounge of a dormitory building at the school, June 26, but police said there was no evidence of homicide or suicide.
However, a subsidiary union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions claims that a newly appointed manager, in charge of the dormitory's safety management, abused his power unduly toward janitors who were already suffering from poor working conditions.
“The deceased was extremely stressed out by the workplace bullying, military-style work orders and high intensity of labor she experienced,” the union said in a press conference on the school campus, Wednesday.
The union criticized the manager's unreasonable orders.
“The manager held a meeting with janitors every Wednesday. He forced male employees to dress in a formal way and female employees to dress themselves beautifully,” it said, adding that those who failed to bring pens and notepads to meetings were subject to disadvantages in their employee performance reviews.
In addition, the manager required the janitors to take a written test that had nothing to do with their job, including questions such as the year a specific dormitory building had been built.
“The manager asked the janitors to write the name of the dormitory in English or Chinese characters during the written test,” it said. “He then publicized each employee's results and publicly shamed them.”
Along with the bullying, the union took issue with the facility's poor working conditions.
“The deceased janitor worked in a four-story building without an elevator, had to carry 100-liter trash bags on six or seven occasions every day with her own hands, and she also had to dispose of recyclables and food waste,” the union said.
“With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic resulting in more waste from increased food deliveries, the intensity of the work must have become severe.”
However, an SNU official said the written test was part of a move to let workers know about the history of their workplace.
In response to the death, a group of SNU professors urged the school to come up with countermeasures to prevent the reoccurrence of such a tragedy, Thursday.
“Based on media reports, the janitor suffered from a heavy workload due to the prolonged pandemic,” it said.
“It is irrational to urge janitors to dress in a formal way and have them take unnecessary tests.”
Belatedly, a petition has been filed at Cheong Wa Dae's website, urging the government to take action to stop workplace bullying. As of 2 p.m., Thursday, more than 140,000 people had signed the petition.