Dozens of former employees of Radio Corp America (RCA) yesterday rallied outside the Executive Yuan compound in Taipei, demanding that the government provide them with labor-insurance compensation for occupational diseases.
The protest followed a Taipei District Court ruling on April 17 that found the defunct electronics manufacturer responsible for widespread health issues among former workers as a result of the exposure to toxic organic solvents used in its factories.
The lawsuit had been filed in 2004 by former RCA employees after more than 1,300 were diagnosed with various types of cancer.
Photo: CNA
Chanting slogans and waving large red-and-black flags, the former RCA employees yesterday demanded that the Executive Yuan restart its special task force on RCA, which was shut down in 2003.
They added that the Ministry of Labor should establish a special service window to keep track of health conditions among former employees and compensate unpaid labor-insurance benefits provided for victims of occupational diseases.
The protesters also urged the government to establish a museum of occupational hazards at the former site of the RCA plant in the then-Taoyuan County, which was designated as a site of “permanent contamination” by environmental authorities in 1998.
Photo: CNA
Although media commentators have called the court decision a victory for former RCA employees, the RCA Self-Help Association said it intends to file an appeal.
While the court ordered RCA to pay NT$564.45 million (US$18.31 million) to 445 former workers and their families, the verdict drew mixed feelings from the plaintiffs, as the RCA Self-Help Association originally sought damages of NT$2.7 billion.
Minister of Labor Chen Hsiung-wen (陳雄文) has said that the ministry would establish compensation funds for the former RCA workers, as the ruling confirmed that illnesses among them could be classified as occupational hazards.
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