The Control Yuan today issued corrective measures against the Ministry of Health and Welfare for improperly handling an investigation into workplace bullying involving 13 senior civil servants across nine departments.
Although the cases were extensive in scope, timeline and number of employees involved, the ministry dealt with the issue quickly, raising doubts as to the fairness and proportionality of the investigation and subsequent disciplinary actions, the Control Yuan said.
The Control Yuan on Nov. 19 approved an investigative report and corrective measures submitted by members Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) and Wang Li-chen (王麗珍).
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
On Tuesday last week, the Control Yuan then impeached five senior civil servants for workplace bullying, transferring the case to the Disciplinary Court.
Among those impeached were Lin Chun-yen (林春燕), former senior inspector of the Department of Protective Services; Wang Ling-yi (王齡儀), former senior specialist at the Department of Long-term Care; and Wang Yen-chin (王燕琴), former senior inspector at the Department of Social Assistance and Social Work.
Also involved were Department of Long-Term Care head Chu Chien-fang (祝健芳) and National Health Insurance Administration section chief Liu Yu-chuan (劉玉娟).
The Control Yuan found that during their tenures, they exploited the power imbalance between themselves and their subordinates and abused their authority by rejecting documents, making the workload difficult for their staff.
They also verbally abused their subordinates, using demeaning or humiliating language, and excluded or isolated specific staff members, it said.
The officials further required their subordinates to immediately respond to messages outside of work hours, it added.
This behavior caused their subordinates to suffer severe physical and mental stress, with some even seeking therapy or leaving their positions, it said.
The bullying continued for many years, seriously impairing their subordinates’ rights and health, as well as the reputation of the ministry, it said.
The ministry’s investigation was also rushed to contain public opinion, the Control Yuan said.
Then-minister of health and welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) in November last year promised to complete an investigation into multiple accusations of workplace bullying within one week, when regulations call for one month, it said.
The Control Yuan further found that the ministry used a Google Form questionnaire that gave staff just 24 hours to respond, with interviews only arranged with employees who left phone numbers.
Former employees were also excluded from the survey, it found.
Only three of the senior civil servants were temporarily reassigned during the investigation, while others were asked to take voluntary leave, discouraging victims from speaking up and affecting fact-finding, it said.
After completing investigations, the ministry notified the alleged perpetrators of the results via official correspondence channels without stating its reasoning, affecting their right to seek remedy.
Although the ministry’s investigation found that three senior officials had committed serious offenses of workplace bullying warranting a major demerit, only one was referred for disciplinary action, while the others remained in their original posts with no action taken, the Control Yuan said.
Previous reports of workplace bullying were also found to have been treated as “general complaints” and left anonymous without being referred to the protection committee, thereby harming the rights of affected employees, it added.
Interviews conducted by the Control Yuan found new facts and evidence that remained uncovered in the ministry’s investigation, it said.
This information is to be forwarded to the ministry for a renewed review in accordance with the law, it added.
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) told reporters on the sidelines of an event that he would review the report and may restart an investigation if new evidence is revealed.
He also vowed to comprehensively review measures to prevent workplace bullying, the complaint mechanism and internal response procedures.
Additional reporting by Hou Chia-yu
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