The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) yesterday announced that it is to establish a definition of death from overwork at a conference to be held this week on occupational injuries.
The council also plans to establish an improved mechanism for diagnosing such deaths after consulting the Taiwan Environmental and Occupational Medicine Association (TEOMA).
The move is aimed at placating relatives of victims, amid complaints that many go uncompensated and comes as a victims' association is warning that this year has seen exponential increases in the rates of such deaths.
Under current regulations, families of workers who die from overwork may receive 45 months salary in compensation from their employers, if the case is confirmed by the CLA.
However, the council approved only one in 10 cases for which families applied this year, which led to numerous complaints from workers' organizations.
According to the Taiwan Association for Victims of Occupational Injuries, because of Taiwan's sluggish economy, many employees have been overworked. The association said that in recent years there has rarely been more than one case of death from overwork every two months, but this year the rate has risen to four or five a month.
Hsu The-sheng (蘇德勝), director of the council's Labor Safety and Health Department, yesterday admitted the lack of a clear definition of death by overwork.
"We'll consult the Taiwan Environmental and Occupational Medicine Association and set up a clear mechanism for doctors around Taiwan to easily diagnosis these cases next month," Hsu said.
Under the Law to Protect Workers Against Occupational Hazards (職業災害勞工保護法), workers who die immediately after 24 hours of work in one day or continuous 16-hours work per day for seven days, "could be considered as dying as a result of overwork."
Su, however, emphasized that professional diagnosis will be another element for recognizing such cases.
Ke Chin (
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