산업재해 예방과 노동조합의 리더십 역할

Abstract

This study investigates the role of labor union leadership and participatory leadership in the process of workers' expressions being acknowledged and subsequently implemented by management in the context of the increasingly emphasized industrial accident prevention. Specifically focusing on issues related to industrial safety closely associated with the quality of workers' lives, we explore how labor unions exercise leadership in fostering employee participation and innovation within a collaborative labor-management environment. Through case analyses, this study reveals that when labor unions actively collaborate with or exhibit proactive leadership towards management, they play a crucial role as channels that actively listen to workers' expressions, convert them into collective voices, and convey them to the management. Furthermore, in such cases, labor unions also function as coordinating bodies, actively seeking additional opinions and performing supplementary adjustments to decisions established in collective agreements. These improvements subsequently lead to a virtuous cycle, creating an environment conducive to the realization of genuine participatory organizations through sustained and more proactive expressions and improvement activities. The findings of this study suggest that for individual and collective expressions of workers to influence managerial decision-making, a foundation of trust built through prolonged labor-management collaboration activities and systems is essential. Additionally, continuous educational efforts to develop workers' participation capabilities are necessary. Importantly, the leadership of labor unions, representing workers, and the leadership of management, accepting and incorporating workers' opinions into actual managerial activities, both play crucial roles in enhancing worker participation. Thus, for effective communication of on-site workers' proposals and demands to the management, a paradigm shift in the perceptions of both management and labor unions, coupled with the development of leadership competencies aligned with the times, is deemed necessary.