• Last updated:2021-11-03

Quarterly Focus

• From the Council of Labor Affairs to the Ministry of Labor Operational Plans and Future Outlook

  In 1951, the central administrative unit responsible for labor was under the Department of Labor, Ministry of the Interior (MOI). In 1981, Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training Council (BEVT) was established to oversee the planning of vocational training work nationwide. On August 1, 1987, the Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan, was established and replaced the former MOI Department of Labor and BEVT, subsequently incorporating the work of the Bureau of Labor Insurance, Labor Insurance Supervisory Committee, the former Provincial Labor Department, and the Youth Employment Services Centers and Youth Vocational Training Center of the National Youth Commission, as well as establishing the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the Labor Pension Fund Supervisory CommitteeLabor Retirement Fund Supervisory Commission. On February 17, 2014, the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) was upgraded to become the Ministry of Labor (MOL), marking the official establishment of the Ministry.

Policies & Regulations

• Ministry of Labor legislates occupational accident insurance for a comprehensive system of occupational accident coverage

  Labor ordinances in Taiwan involving the protection of workers suffering from occupational accidents include the Labor Standards Act, which stipulates employers' liability in providing compensation for occupational accidents, the Labor Insurance Act which contains provisions on various insurance benefits provided by occupational accident insurance, and the Labor Safety and Health Act and Labor Inspection Act which contain provisions on the prevention of occupational accidents. Since the above laws are not applicable to all workers, and in practice there are still employers who do not enroll their workers in labor insurance according to regulations, or, when occupational accidents affect their workers, do not perform their responsibility under the Labor Standards Act to provide compensation for occupational accidents, the Occupational Accident Labor Protection Act (OALPA) was implemented on April 28, 2002, to prevent the occurrence of occupational accidents, enhance the safety of workers, and ensure the livelihoods of workers suffering from occupational acts and their families or surviving dependents.

• MOL Announces Phase III Applicability of Substance Inventory Pursuant to Regulations Governing the Labeling and Hazard Communication of Dangerous and Harmful Materials and the Implementation Date Ther

  To ensure the implementation of GHS, the MOL, in its former capacity of the CLA, issued the Regulations of the Labeling and Hazard Communication of Dangerous and Harmful Materials on October 19, 2007. This regulation protects labors'rights to the knowledge of manufacturing, handling and use of hazardous substances through the classification, labeling and SDSs thereof. Hazardous substances were announced in phases on December 31, 2008 and January 7, 2011, covering 2,151 substances.

• Ministry of Labor Provides New Training Services for the Small Enterprise Niche

  In an ever-changing era of internationalization, the key to an enterprise's efforts to boost its competitive advantage lies with intangible assets such as knowledge, brands, and human capital; of these,“human capital”is a crucial factor in activating and generating enterprise value. Training mainly consists of instruction in the practicality of applicable skills based on the requirements of a particular position, and is focused on a variety of special organizational and working needs. Through training, the development of appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes will allow trainee achieve predetermined goals so that they may competently perform the work that they are currently responsible or for which they will be in the future. People are, therefore, vehicles of knowledge, and talent is the core component that forms organizational competitiveness. Strengthening the cultivation of talent, therefore, must not be overlooked if an enterprise is to boost its overall competitiveness.

News Outlook

• Partial Revision of the Labor Pension Act Passed by legislative Yuan

  On January 17, 2014, Amendments of the Labor Pension Act came into force after three reading and passed at the Legislative Yuan. These new amendments will broaden the scope of applicability of the New Labor Pension Scheme; major amendments include:

• Economic Outlook and Investment Strategy in 2014 for Labor Pension Fund

  Since 2013, global financial markets have been affected by issues such as the U.S. fiscal cliff, political instability in Italy after the general election, chaos in the Middle East, and political disputes in East Asia. Yet, with the loosening of monetary policy and implementation of economic stimulus plans by governments worldwide, a modest pace of recovery has been maintained. With interest rates low, liquidity continued to drive stock markets up, only to begin to fluctuate and fall in mid-May on worries that the U.S. Federal Reserve might end its policy of quantitative easing (QE) early. After a September meeting of the Fed, news was released that QE would be implemented based on economic conditions and not ended prematurely, and markets began to rise again. The Taiwan Stock Exchange, meanwhile, has performed relatively stably due to favorable factors such as the government's amendments to the Securities Transactions Tax, promotion of Free Economic Pilot Zones, the signing of the Cross-strait Service Trade Agreement, and the continued loosening of restrictions on cross- strait financial flows.

• Amendments to provisions of the Labor Standards Act to protect child laborers and provisions of the Gender Equality in Employment Act related to menstruation leave

  In recent year, the rights of child workers (and stars) have begun to catch public's attention. Although provisions in the Labor Standards Act on child worker protections are quite comprehensive, to provide more refined protections, the Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan made amendments to Articles 45, 47, 77, and 79-1 of the Labor Standards Act, which passed three readings by the Legislative Yuan and entered into force on December 13, 2013. The amendment inserted a clause providing that child labor protection regulations apply mutatis mutandis to persons under the age of fifteen providing labor service to a third party through others, or directly providing labor service to receive remuneration with no employment relationship. Provisions are also added to regulate child workers' daily working hours to be under 8 hours, weekly working hours to be under 40 hours, and working on regulated day off is not permitted. Penal provisions are also added to the for violations of child labor provisions.

• Chairman and CEO of Chilean Socialist Party Think Tank visited CLA (now Ministry of Labor) to acquire understanding of union organization situation in Taiwan

  Chairman Ricardo Núñez and CEO Hugo Espinoza of the Chilean Socialist Party think-tank, Instituto de Igualdad, paid a visit to Chairman Pan (now Minister) on Thursday January 9, 2014 to exchange opinions on the current union organization situation in Taiwan and other topics. Mr. Núñez is a former chairman of the Socialist Party and an influential figure who will enter the Cabinet in March..

• Source:Department of General Planning
• Publication Date:2014-02-28
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