Structural Relationship between Safety Climate and Safety Compliance of Labor Union Members in the Garak Market in Korea

Abstract

Safety is the most critical issue at any workplace. In particular, as injury rates due to accidents in transport, distribution, and loading/unloading areas have been around 30 percent since 2004, it is necessary to investigate the underlying factors related to overall worker’s safety performance in these areas. In Korea, the wholesale market for agricultural and marine products forms an important part of supply chains, and it plays a critical role in improving overall supply chain efficiency. For this reason, this study examines the labor safety compliance in the Garak market in Korea. A survey was conducted and the corresponding responses were analyzed in terms of descriptive statistics, confirmatory factors and reliability, followed by structural equation modeling. The analysis results can be summarized as follows: (1) safety communication showed the largest total positive effect on safety compliance behavior, (2) as mediating variable, safety knowledge was the most significant factor with positive effect on safety compliance, (3) self-efficacy exhibited the largest indirect positive effect on safety compliance through safety motivation and knowledge, (4) dualistic employment characteristics of independent labor union members produced significant negative relations between management commitment and safety knowledge, and between safety communication and safety motivation.