UN inspector praises Samsung in handling of workplace health claims

By Kim Tae-gyu

A U.N. inspector on risky substances praised Samsung Electronics in dealing with the alleged victims of the tech giant’s use of harmful chemicals in a report to the Human Rights Council Sept. 13 in Geneva.

Baskut Tuncak, a special rapporteur at the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), has worked on the report almost a year with the aim of checking the effects of detrimental chemicals in Korea.

“The special rapporteur sincerely commends Samsung Electronics for its spirit of cooperation, openness and continuing dialogue with him,” Tuncak said. “He acknowledges internal changes by Samsung Electronics and steps taken to realize the right of former workers to an effective remedy.”

The claims started in the mid 2000s that Samsung is responsible for poisoning its workers by not properly protecting them from toxic working conditions in its semiconductor factories.

After years of contentions the world’s largest chipmaker made an apology in 2014 and promised to compensate victims or their families.

Toward that end, it set up principles after long consultation with the committee representing affected employees and their families. There remain disputes with another group representing other victims, though.

Those who are eligible for compensation are former Samsung employees who worked at the firm longer than a year and retired later than 1996. Their treatment costs will be fully covered by Samsung and one-off compensation will also be paid.

Thus far, almost 170 applications have been made to Samsung and around two thirds of them received compensation with a letter of apology from the Samsung CEO.

Plus, Samsung founded a 100 billion won ($85 million) fund to help those affected and created an Ombudsman Committee which is set to monitor the firm’s semiconductor operations to ensure workers' safety.

“It agreed with other parties to establish a three-member Ombudsman Committee to conduct an audit of the efforts of Samsung Electronics relating to prevention and to propose recommendations for improvement,” he said.

“The special rapporteur welcomes the establishment of the Ombudsman Committee, and looks forward to its implementation with both transparency and meaningful public participation by all stakeholders.”

Tuncak came up with three recommendations for Samsung. The first is to ensure that all affected workers and contractors are indeed compensated and the second is to prevent further workplace diseases via proactive activities of the Ombudsman Committee. The final is to continue collaboration with human rights agencies.

This marks a stark contrast to his remarks last October when he visited Korea to look into the country’s human rights and hazardous substances and wastes.

“I am afraid that many workers at Samsung Electronics have fallen victim to priorities that place profits before human rights,” he said in a statement after finishing the two-week-long fact-finding mission.

The latest and final report also included the two facts that in 2007 the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute conducted epidemiological investigation at the Samsung plant but didn’t find any carcinogen that might have caused leukemia, and the next year the institute staged a health study on 200,000 workers to get a result that showed no statistical significance for leukemia.

However, Tuncak criticized Samsung’s failure to disclose all substances used for semiconductor production ― Samsung refused the request citing that it is confidential business information.