• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.101-107
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• 2012

The statistics of industrial accident reported by ministry of Employment and Labor denoted a significant increase of musculoskeletal disorders(MSDs) after 1993, and showed the higher incident rate by 71.3% over the overall worker's disorders. Also, it was expected that Korean society will become the post-aged society in 2026 with 20.8% of elderly who is over 65 years old. The reports suggest possible problems caused by the older worker known to have reduced working ability than the young counterparts. On this basis, the goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between MSDs symptoms and work ability in the shipbuilding industry. To achieve this goal, this study distributed a questionnaire for total 1,244 shipbuilding employers, and used 910 employers' reports which revealed validity for this study. The questionnaire included the MSDs symptoms report developed by the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Association(KOSHA) and the work ability index(WAI) developed by Finnish Institute of Occupational Health(FIOH). Results showed no relationship between MSDs symptoms and age, years of work and exercise. Also, the work ability was increased until 44 years old, but it was decreased after that time because of the reduced physical capacity. Meanwhile, the years of work and exercise have positive correlation with work ability. However, the results revealed significant relationships between WAI and age, years of work, task characteristics and exercise. All together, the MSDs symptoms have a close relationship with the work ability in that the work ability of workers with the MSDs symptoms was reduced. This study may suggest the needs of more efforts and attention on the MSDs prevention to increase the work ability.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.321-365
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• 2018

Though the British shipbuilding industry dominated the world market in the 19th century, it could not avoid the repetitive rise and fall of the unemployment following after the cyclical fluctuations. Without challenging the employers' rights to fire at will, the boilermakers maintained their own unemployment insurance in order to escape from the new poverty law system. In the beginning the craft union could continue their own unemployment insurance under the National Insurance Act of 1911, but it went into bankruptcy under the massive unemployment of the 1920s and the attacks of shipyard employers. The Act of 1911 was a step towards social solidarity in that it spread the risks beyond the occupational boundaries, applying unemployment insurance to unskilled and non-union workers, and the employer and the government also paid the premium. In the Great Depression, the shipyard trade unions demanded that the government should intervene in the shipbuilding market to provide jobs, but it was not accepted by the government. The government responded only to the another demand of the union for the maintenance, which could be achieved partially through the abnormal operation of the insurance system, abandoning the insurance principle. After all, unemployment in the shipbuilding industry was resolved only by the expansion of rearmaments and the outbreak of World War II. From the 19th century to the World War II, the craft unions did not challenge the employers' right to fire at will and did not attempt to regulate dismissal procedures or make any demands on dismissal compensations. During interwar periods rules and practices related with weak employment protection - one of the main features of the liberal employment adjustment institution - were prevalent in Britain. The principle of 'employment at will' could survive through the historical events such as the World War I, II as the operation of the unemployment insurance became the focus of the social conflicts.