The Executive Yuan is to launch a new bullying complaint platform this morning, requiring all cases to be resolved within one month, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare also released a report on the results of its eight investigations into workplace bullying.
Multiple allegations of bullying in government institutions and government-affiliated organizations have emerged recently, following the suspected suicide of a Ministry of Labor employee last month, who was allegedly a victim of workplace bullying.
Photo: CNA
The revised bullying complaint platform aims to offer more diverse complaint channels, Lee cited Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Director-General Su Chun-jung (蘇俊榮) as saying yesterday at an Executive Yuan meeting.
As complainants must provide their name, the platform has improved its security measures to respect the privacy of all parties and prevent leaks, she said.
It also aims to encourage cross-departmental cooperation to ensure that complaints are responded to within three days, followed up by human resources personnel and resolved within one month, Lee added.
The new system is intended to facilitate fast, fact-based investigations that protect privacy, Lee cited Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as saying.
Cho had also said he hoped the public sector could efficiently deal with complaints, change the bureaucratic culture and improve the public image of the Cabinet and its staff.
The platform would also ensure that all departments conduct thorough and unbiased investigations without protecting bullies or attacking innocent victims, Cho said.
The new system must gain public credibility without negatively impacting staff involved in external investigations, and would rely on central and local government bodies to set a good example for the public, Cho added.
The government would keep operating the platform to assure civil servants that there is a mechanism in place to protect victims, Cho said.
It would be separate from internal complaint channels, providing an alternative, multi-departmental and expedited complaint channel on top of existing mechanisms, Directorate-General of Personnel Administration specialist Yang Ching-lun (楊景倫) said.
Meanwhile, eight investigations into bullying have been carried out within the Ministry of Health, three of which have been deemed by a team of experts to be instances of workplace bullying, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lue Jen-der (呂建德) said.
The confirmed cases involve officials from the Department of Long-term Care, the Department of Protective Services and the Department of Social Assistance and Social Work, Lue said, adding that the investigations have resulted in disciplinary measures against seven officials, including a director who failed to stop the bullying.
A team of experts interviewed nearly 100 employees to ascertain whether they felt isolated or humiliated, have lost self-confidence, or experienced physical or psychological stress, he said.
The investigation found that three officials had abused their authority, including by shouting at employees under their supervision and repeatedly rejecting documents without cause, the report said.
Two officials have been punished with major demerits and another was given a minor demerit, with the most serious instigator to be transferred from their post, it said.
The investigation into Department of Long-term Care head Chu Chien-fang (祝健芳), which required extended interviews, found that he had made staff join him in daily aerobics sessions involving squats and putting pressure on employees, the report said.
He was given a minor demerit, as it was not deemed workplace bullying.
Once the report became public, Chu told reporters that he expected his subordinates to support their director, which brought into question the fairness and impartiality of the investigation, Lue said.
Additional reporting by Lin Chih-yi and CNA
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