Several trade unions have pledged to lobby for better legal accountability for employers regarding work-related injuries.
New legislation is required to impose monetary damages on companies when their negligence leads to major workplace accidents, the Taiwan Association for Victims of Occupational Injuries said at a news conference on Thursday.
The amount imposed should be relative to company revenue, and executives should be subject to criminal sanction if injuries experienced by workers can be attributed to policies or orders, it said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法) and other laws have been used to penalize supervisors of injured workers, but generally those employees have no say in the policies that are often cause the injuries, association executive officer Liu Nien-yun (劉念雲) said.
“Bosses often escape responsibility,” she said in her call for legal reform.
Liu said that the lobbying effort was initiated by the association and has received backing from the Taiwan Railway Union and Taiwan International Workers Association, among others. Representatives of the groups attended the news conference to express their support.
The association plans to consult with trade unions across the country for their input into legal proposals, although it does not have a deadline.
It hopes the government takes the proposals seriously and incorporate them into law, Liu said.
The unions said that they doubt a new law set to take effect tomorrow would offer adequate protection to injured workers or better prevent workplace accidents.
The Labor Occupational Hazard Insurance and Protection Act (勞工職業災害保險及保護法) is to replace the Act for Protecting Workers from Occupational Accidents (職災勞工保護法) and other occupational insurance regulations.
The government has said the new law compels most companies, regardless of size, to hold insurance against liability for employee injury.
However, the groups said that the required insurance is minimal, even for those with poor records of work-related injuries.
Being able to inexpensively transfer liability for workplace incidents to the insurer — the Bureau of Labor Insurance — companies would have no incentive to prioritize employee health and safety, the association said.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
Passengers on Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) will be required to use headphones and make phone calls in gangways under new “quiet travel” rules starting Sept. 22. THSR Chairman Shih Che (史哲) told media that THSR will run a three-month promotional campaign to ensure widespread adoption of the new rules. Those repeatedly ignoring the guidance face the potential termination of their transport contract, which can result in them getting escorted off the train, according to THSR. Shih shared his hope to cultivate an environment conducive to rest and reading for the train’s passengers, stating that these changes aim to “promote self-discipline” among passengers
RSS