Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) on Thursday said for the first time that the commission would step in to resolve the employment status of life insurance sales agents by amending the Insurance Act (保險法).
“We hope to solve the long-standing problems of insurance sales agents, ” Koo said at a news conference in Taipei.
However, as the planned amendment is large, it would not be started in this legislative session, he said.
The commission recently held a meeting with insurance companies and law compliance departments aiming to improve the management of insurance agents.
Koo asked insurance companies to clarify the employment status of their sales agents and instructed the law compliance departments to establish a relevant inspection system.
“I don’t want to see another similar dispute happening again,” Koo said on Thursday, referring to escalating labor disputes at Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽).
Nan Shan’s disputes have been ongoing for many years, with its union often clashing with the company over whether sales agents are regular employees or independent contractors, which affects labor and health insurance, and pension benefits.
Yesterday, sales agents protested outside the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, where a Tang Prize ceremony was being held.
The prize was founded by Samuel Yin (尹衍樑), a majority shareholder of Nan Shan.
The protest was moved to outside the Grand Hotel, where the Tang Prize banquet was to be held, local media reported.
Koo said he hopes that the insurance company would be able to address the issues with the union as soon as possible, otherwise, the commission would use a carrot-and-stick approach to resolve the matter.
Nan Shan has a bad track record given the union’s repeated protests, which might also negatively affect the company’s plan to trade its shares on either the local main board or the over-the-counter market, he said.
At the end of last month, the commission said it had revised stock listing eligibility criteria for insurance companies to be based on profitability, repayment capacity and liquidity, as well as their regulatory compliance track record.
Applicants must also not be involved in major labor disputes, it said.
Nan Shan’s labor disputes would always prevent it from proceeding to the next step in its initial public offering plan, Koo said.
If Nan Shan could settle the disputes and meet the other criteria, the firm would have a better chance of being listed, he said.
Nan Shan yesterday said that has been negotiating with the union and hopes to settle the dispute.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
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