Sat, Jul 04, 2015 page4

• Water Park Inferno: Event staffed by volunteers to cut costs, legislator say

  • By Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter
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  Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) yesterday said Color Play Co (玩色創意) — organizer of the “Color Play Asia” party that saw 500 people burned after dust sprayed over the crowd ignited at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park on Saturday last week — illegally used “volunteers” in place of “hired part-timers” for the event to dodge insurance and potential compensation costs.

  The company used a total of 101 volunteers, along with 37 part-time workers, for the event to “guide the crowd, monitor order, maintain environmental hygiene and handle the storage of bags,” in exchange for “event T-shirts, meals and free entry to the party,” according to an employment advertisement.

  Thirteen of the 101 were injured in the incident in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里), Lin said, adding that of the 13, 11 were hospitalized, six of whom are in intensive care units.

  

  Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Shu-fen, second left, yesterday addresses the media at a press conference in Taipei saying that the event organized by Color Play Co at Formosa Fun Coast last Saturday was a for-profit event, but that it used volunteer workers to avoid labor and health insurance and potential workers’ compensation costs.

  Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

  “The event was clearly a commercial one, with an aim to make a profit: Pre-sold tickets cost NT$1,100 per person and at-the-door tickets cost NT$1,500,” Lin said. “The party was definitely not a volunteer activity categorized by the Volunteer Service Act (志願服務法), which has been confirmed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.”

  The company employed “volunteers” to work as part-timers to avoid its responsibilities as an employer, such as enrolling them in health and labor insurance schemes that would cover compensation for occupational injuries, and providing occupational training, the lawmaker said. “The lack of proper training meant that event safety was jeopardized.”

  Taiwan Occupational Safety and Health Link executive director Huang Yi-ling (黃怡翎) said that the rate of occupational injuries among young workers, “probably due to a lack of experience,” is two times higher than the national average.

  “At the same time, it is usually one-day events like the Color Play Asia party and concerts, frequented by young people, that would have young people work as volunteers in exchange for free entry or event-only merchandise,” Huang said.

  Occupational Safety and Health Administration official Chen Cheng-chi (陳正祺) said according to the Labor Insurance Act (勞工保險條例), an insured unit failing to enroll its employees for employment insurance can be imposed a fine four times the total of premiums for the period of employment.

  There is no criminal penalty, Chen added.

  “If there was, our jails would be packed with employers,” Lin said.

  Lin said the fine is too lenient, adding that amendments to the act might be needed.

  She called on authorities to carry out checks on other event organizers.

  Separately yesterday, DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) accused the New Taipei City Government of trying to pass the buck by deliberately concealing information about regulations.

  “The city government has been upholding the Regulations for the Management of Tourist Amusement Enterprises (觀光遊樂管理條例) as the law that applies in this situation, but the fact is, the New Taipei City Government’s operating procedure for managing temporary structures promulgated in 2011 requires event organizers to report to the city government,” Gao said.

  The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus later released a statement criticizing Gao for “distorting the facts and staging a political performance ahead of next year’s elections.”

  The KMT said that according to New Taipei City operating procedures, an event organizer is required to obtain approval from the “authority associated with the concerned business,” which in this case would be the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

  “Therefore, there is no question that the Regulations for the Management of Tourist Amusement Enterprises is the law that should be invoked in this case,” it said.
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