Pursuant to the Labor Insurance Act, the Labor Insurance premium rate for ordinary accidents will be adjusted from the current 11.5% to 12% on January 1, 2023, which includes a 1% employment insurance premium rate. The premium for Labor Insurance shall be calculated on the basis of 11% from 2023.

The Bureau of Labor Insurance (BLI) stated that for the financial balance and sustainable development of the labor insurance, the law stipulates that the labor insurance premium rate for ordinary accidents shall be automatically adjusted from 2009. The adjustment will gradually rise from 7.5% to a maximum of 13%. So, it should be adjusted to 12% by 2023. In addition, since the implementation of the Employment Insurance Act, a 1% reduction has been imposed on the labor insurance premium rate, based on the insured person's monthly insured salary. Therefore, from January 1, 2023, the labor insurance premium will be charged at 11% of the insured person's monthly insured salary.

To make calculating the correct amount of insurance premium for 2023 more convenient for insured units, the BLI has printed the notification letter at the back of the September 2022 payment slip (mailed on October 25, 2022) for acknowledgement by the insured units. The Table of Shared Insurance Premiums for various types of insured persons has been updated already. To download the table, please go to "Table Download" under "Public Service" in the BLI's official website. You may also use the page "Insurance Premium Trial Calculation for Labor Insurance, Employment Insurance and Labor Occupational Accident Insurance-Covered Individuals" under "Simplified Calculation" in "Public Service" to calculate the insurance premium you need to pay.

Keywords: Labor Insurance Premium Rate for Ordinary Accidents, Shared Insurance Premium, Calculation for Individual Insurance Premium

Due to the current low fertility rate in Taiwan, the Act of Gender Equality in Employment increased the number of paid leaves for pregnancy checkups from 5 days to 7 days on January 18, 2022. The Act changed paid pregnancy checkup accompaniment leave into paid pregnancy checkup accompaniment and paternity leave. Moreover, 2 days were added to the original 5 days, making a total of 7, which not only gives more support to parents raising children but also builds a friendlier environment for childbirth.

According to the Ministry of Labor (MOL), employers cannot refuse any legitimate applications for pregnancy checkup leave or pregnancy checkup accompaniment and paternity leave filed by their employees. To avoid putting extra burdens on employers, the MOL stipulates that employers may apply to the Bureau of Labor Insurance (BLI) for subsidies on the salaries paid to employees for day 6 and day 7 of pregnancy checkup leave and pregnancy checkup accompaniment and paternity leave beyond the original 5 days allowed.

The MOL further stated that as of September 2022, the number of approved subsidies for pregnancy checkup leaves and pregnancy checkup accompaniment and parental leaves were 5,685 and 4,603, respectively, and the approved subsidy amounts totaled NT$13,563,000 and NT$14,171,000 respectively.

The MOL emphasizes that if employees need to take pregnancy checkup leaves or pregnancy checkup accompaniment and parental leaves, they may file the applications to their employers in accordance with the law. Employers who violate these regulations shall receive a fine of NT$20,000 to NT$300,000 and have their titles and names announced to the public. Employers may download salary subsidy applications from "Building a Friendly Workplace for Child Birth: Salary Subsidy" under "Business Topic" on the BLI website.

Keywords: Act of Gender Equality in Employment, Pregnancy Checkup Leave, Pregnancy Checkup Accompaniment and Paternity Leave

Mentored by the Ministry of Labor (MOL), two young teams, Welcome to Coca Pair and The Specials, have respectively won 2nd and 5th place among 208 teams from 53 countries in the BeChangeMaker competition.

BeChangeMaker (BCM) is an international competition organized by WorldSkills International. The competition primarily focuses on inspiring young people to become social entrepreneurs and come up with innovative solutions to solve social problems. Each team consists of 2 to 5 members ranging from 18 to 35 years in age; one to two members of each team must be fluent in English. The solutions' design must conform to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Taiwan has made it to the top 15 among hundreds of teams for 5 years in a row since participating in this WorldSkills International-organized event in 2018. We even made it to the top 5 from 2019 to this year.

Welcome to Coca Pair is a team mentored by Punch Studio of the Fablab STMC of the Workforce Development Agency, MOL. The team consists of two members who have a background in product design and applied foreign languages. The team's chief concern is environmental pollution. It proposes to massively reduce the carbon footprint through enhanced redesign based on the concept of circular economy, such as using single materials to reduce recycling costs. Welcome to Coca Pair hopes to become just like Lego, who the team looks up to, except the team is active in the field of international furniture.

The Specials are another team consisting of a group of partners from the Kaohsiung Epilepsy Association. They focus on the employment and entrepreneurship of people with disabilities. The Kaohsiung Epilepsy Association is an implementer of the Multi-Employment Promotion Program mentored by the Workforce Development Agency. The team designed a replicable social enterprise model for the employment of disadvantaged groups to facilitate social inclusion and sustainable economic growth.

The MOL spares no effort in encouraging youngsters to participate in social entrepreneurship competitions. Providing resources for young people to participate in international social innovation, the MOL organizes orientations, invites predecessors to share their experiences, and offers counseling resources from practitioners in various fields.

Keywords: BeChangeMaker, WorldSkills International, BCM

On October 5, 2022, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) co-hosted the Corporate Integrity Forum 2022 with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). Ms. Janice Lai, President of NEC Taiwan, gave a keynote speech on "To Develop Corporate Integrity on the Basis of Occupational Safety". Tim Tregenza and Dianah Brown from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and Safe Work Australia also shared their thoughts on workplace violence prevention, an emerging topic of occupational safety and health, via prerecorded talks. Moreover, the panelists of the two forums discussed corporate integrity and shared their experiences in "Secure Work", "Safe Workplace" and "Safe Labor".

The forums began with statements by Minister Hsu Ming-Chun of the MOL, Minister Tsai Ching-Hsiang of the MOJ, and Representative Jenny Bloomfield from the Australian Office Taipei. According to Minister Hsu Ming-Chun, corporate integrity has become a widespread pursuit across the globe in the past few years; a corporation cannot compete with others unless it achieves ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) goals. By organizing this event, the MOL seeks to bring together public and private sectors and achieve the vision of "Secure Work, Safe Workplace, Safe Labor and 100% Corporate Integrity" to build a stable, secure, and safe environment for laborers.

The first forum was themed on "The Corporate Integrity from Anti-corruption and International Practice" and hosted by Deputy Director-General Shen Feng-Liang of the Agency Against Corruption of the MOJ. It touched upon issues such as "how employees can jointly build a culture of anti-corruption and ethical management" and "global trends and outlook of corporate integrity and governance". The second forum was centered on "Applying Technology to Implement Labor Safety with ESG Concept" and hosted by CEO Ho Jiune-Jye of the Center for Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation. Matters discussed included "implementing corporate governance and secure work, safe workplace and safe labor via ESG philosophy" and "how to use IT to reinforce occupational safety and health". The event allowed attendants to learn from some of the best in the field and align with international practices by sharing the latest experience in corporate integrity, anti-corruption, and workplace violence prevention around the world and fully exploring how to use technology to ensure occupational safety and health and implement an ESG philosophy.

Keywords: Corporate Integrity, Safety and Health, ESG

Opened by Vice Minister Chen Ming-Jen of the Ministry of Labor, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Workshop on "The Utilization of Digital Technology to Advance Occupational Safety and Health in the Digital Age" was held on October 18 and 19, 2022 (Taipei time). APEC Senior Official/Director General of the Department of International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Sharon S.N. Wu; Lead Shepherd Dong Sun Park of the APEC Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG); Chair Pongsadhorn Pokpermdee of the APEC Health Working Group; Coordinator Jessica Russell of the APEC HRDWG Labor and Social Protection Network; and Executive Director Twekiat Janprajak of the Thailand Trade and Economic Office representing the host of APEC 2022, all attended the Workshop and gave speeches.

Day 1 of the Workshop began with a discussion of occupational safety and health challenges and the utilization of digital technology solutions in the digital age, industrial digital transformation, human-machine collaboration, and other emerging employment patterns. Experts and scholars from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the US, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Australia, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Japan, and the Nagaoka University of Technology joined the representatives of Chinese Taipei on this talk.

Day 2 continued with representatives from the Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency, the Bureau of Occupational Safety and Health of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare of Thailand, and industrial representatives of Chinese Taipei sharing real-life cases of the utilization of digital technology for the reinforcement of health management and work safety. In addition, representatives of the International Trade Union Confederation - Asia Pacific and the International Organisation of Employers engaged in conversations with occupational safety and health organizations, labor unions, and corporations of Chinese Taipei, putting forth suggestions and prospects for the utilization of digital technology by the government and corporations for the facilitation of occupational safety and health.

Keywords: APEC, Digital Technology, Occupational Safety and Health

On October 31, 2022, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) held the 2022 Work-Life Balance Awards ceremony at the Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel. Minister Hsu Ming-Chun attended the ceremony in person to award corporations for their contributions toward work-life balance in the hopes of inspiring more businesses to join and exchange on the promotion of work-life balance.

The 2022 Work-Life Balance Awards focus on reviewing the implementation of flexible work arrangements, child care supportive measures, and employee health care mechanisms. Attention was also paid to enhanced measures like leaves and employee care measures provided to employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 23 winning corporations this year: 9 Flexible Work Award winners, 5 Family Friendly Award winners, and 9 Employee Care Award winners.

The winning corporations exhibited a total of 197 creative measures, showing how much they care for their employees. These creative measures include work-from-home equipment subsidies during the COVID-19 crisis, taxi fare reimbursement for office-attending personnel, employee care bonuses for those infected with COVID-19, anti-COVID-19 care gift baskets, full-pay quarantine leaves, and vaccination leaves. In this way, the corporations showed support to the employees and fostered peace of mind. Furthermore, the implementation of employee assistance programs and the establishment of recreational sports centers create a healthy workplace culture and facilitate the physical and mental health of employees. In addition, many corporations value employee child care services and establish kindergartens and after-school care centers, providing NT$100,000 per child as childbirth subsidies and NT$2,000 to NT$4,000 per month to employees as education subsidies until the child turns 12 years old; or give employees above-standard leaves, for instance, 26 weeks of paid parental leave, 16 weeks of maternity leave, 20 days of full-pay family care leave during the COVID-19 pandemic, birthday leaves, family leaves, and sibling marriage leaves, showing support and good wishes to the employees at the most important moments of their lives.

With corporations building friendly work environments for healthy and sustainable lifestyles, employees may devote themselves to work without worries, which increases employees' work efficiency, passion, and creativity to create a win-win situation for employees and employers. The MOL will continue to encourage corporations in the promotion of work-life balance and collaborate with businesses on building a friendly and heart-warming workplace! For this year's list of winners and their creative measures, visit the Work-Life Balance website of the MOL.

Keywords: Work-life Balance, Recognition of Excellent Corporations, Friendly Workplace