일본 개정 노동안전위생법의 쟁점과 과제 — 일하는 방식 개혁법과 관련 —

This paper aims to examine the main contents of the revised Industrial Safety and Health Act (hereinafter referred to as ISHA) in relation to the Act on Arrangement of Relevant Acts to Promote Work Style Reform (Reformation Act), which was enacted in April 2019 in Japan, and to draw implications from this analysis. The main contents of the revised ISHA can be divided into several areas. First, the acts strengthen the functions of industrial physicians and occupational health and includes a requirement that employers provide information necessary for industrial physicians to properly perform their duties. Second, with the exception of workers covered by the highly professional work system, employers must monitor workers’ working hours using methods specified by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Third, when workers who fall under the highly professional work system spend more than a designated length of time in the workplace, the employer is obliged to ensure that the workers are interviewed by and receive guidance from a medical doctor. By taking measures to restrain long working hours and by introducing a highly professional work system, these revisions strengthen employee health management by promoting employee health rights along with efficient work hour management. In Korea, the revised Occupational Safety and Health Act (hereinafter referred to as “OSHA”) will be implemented beginning in 2021. However, because the main central purpose of the revised OSHA of Korea and the ISHA of Japan are totally different, this paper has encountered limitations in drawing implications for comparative research. The OSHA is mainly concerned with workers’ physical damage, prevention of industrial accidents and improvement of industrial safety based on the manufacturing industry. Also, preventive procedures for health maintenance and management, including the mental health of workers, are somewhat insufficient in the OSHA, according to evaluations. In the near future, like Japan’s ISHA, OSHA is expected to address lengthy work hours and employee health management in accordance with changes in the work hours legislation in Korea. Therefore, a discussion about employee health maintenance and management with respect to the OSHA, including addressing mental health issues, is imperative.