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CLA observes marked improvement in death and injury rate in the workplace

Thanks to government efforts to make the work environment safer, the rate of deaths and injuries in the workplace was almost identical to that of developed countries in Europe and America, an official from the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) said yesterday.

Lin Yu-tang (林毓堂), a section chief at the council’s Department of Labor Safety and Health, said the government’s efforts and measures to reduce occupational injuries implemented in the past eight years had lowered the occupational death rate and disability rate by 55 percent and 42 percent respectively during the Democratic Progressive Party government’s tenure.

The occupational death rate last year was 34 per million population, which was roughly the same as that recorded in the US for the same year, Lin said.

Lin made the remarks in response to accusations by a labor group that the government had been unable to reduce injuries.

About 60 workers and their families, led by the Taiwan Association for Victims of Occupational Injuries, protested at the Presidential Office yesterday over the government’s performance in reducing injuries, alleging that official statistics of occupational injuries and deaths did not match actual numbers.

The association, founded in 1992 by a group of workers with occupational injuries and their families, has long been active in promoting public awareness about improving workplace safety.

The protest was held in conjunction with the April 28 International Workers’ Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for workers who are killed, injured or fall ill because of their work.

Association secretary-general Huang Hsiao-ling (黃小陵) said government statistics on workplace injuries and deaths were inaccurate.

He said many cases not covered by insurance were not included and that many others were not reported by employers, who hoped to hide the facts to shield their company from lawsuits.

Hang said the actual numbers of occupational deaths and injuries could be three to five times higher than government figures.

In response, Lin said the council’s statistics used the definition of injury stipulated in the Labor Safety and Health Law and that many cases that lay outside the purview of labor insurance were also included in the statistics — as long as the injured were eligible for compensation under the law.

Lin said that some cases were not included in the statistics, but that the council’s numbers had been compiled in accordance with international norms.


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