Medical and labor rights activists yesterday said that a landmark ruling in favor of physician Tsai Po-chiang (蔡柏羌) highlighted the importance of including doctors in the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) to prevent problems caused by overwork.
Led by the Medical Labor Rights Group, the groups demanded that the Ministry of Health and Welfare formulate a new plan to include physicians in the act within one month.
The ministry said last month that given the insufficient number of physicians, it would take at least nine years before doctors can be included in the act — which caps working hours at 84 hours per two weeks.
Photo: CNA
“If we wait for another nine years before we protect physicians from overwork, we will soon be left with no physicians at all, except for cosmetic surgeons,” Tsai’s wife said at a press conference yesterday.
Tsai collapsed outside an operating theater in 2009 after reportedly working for more than 30 hours straight.
The former physician suffered serious brain damage and lasting memory problems from the incident, making him unable to continue his career.
On Jan. 16, a landmark High Court ruling classified the incident as an occupational accident, and ordered the hospital to pay NT$7.8 million (US$249,000) in compensation to Tsai and his family.
Judicial Reform Foundation member Hsiao Yi-min (蕭逸民) said the ruling established a “progressive” interpretation that confirmed the relationship between physicians and hospitals as that of employment.
As previous court rulings often failed to provide compensation to suspected cases of overwork, the groups demanded that the ministry apologize to past victims involved in similar cases.
Taiwan Labor Front secretary-general Son Yu-liam (孫友聯) said that activists have been demanding the inclusion of physicians in the act for 20 years and criticized the ministry for failing to take action.
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