Taipei: Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han has called for the introduction of consistent grievance handling mechanisms in draft bills regarding the handling of workplace bullying across the private and public sectors. The issue of workplace bullying was brought to the forefront in Taiwan following an incident at the Workforce Development Agency New Taipei Office.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) determined that the alleged suicide of an employee was motivated by workplace bullying from the then-office head, Hsieh Yi-jung. The MOL's investigation report detailed persistent yelling, berating, and blaming of staff, as well as demanding tasks beyond their job responsibilities. An initial report released on November 19 caused public backlash due to declaring Hsieh "well-intentioned" and "not the direct cause" of the employee's death, raising questions about the investigation's integrity.
The incident led to significant public outrage, resulting in the resignation of then-Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan on November 21 last year. This prompted a second investigation and a legal drive to introduce measures to handle and punish workplace bullying. In a recent interview with CNA, Hung, who succeeded Ho, stated that addressing workplace bullying in both the public and private sectors is his top priority as labor minister.
Currently, workers facing bullying are covered by non-legally binding guidelines, with no clear-cut definitions of workplace bullying in existing laws. The MOL has proposed amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which covers private-sector workers, while the Examination Yuan plans to propose amendments to the Civil Service Protection Act.
Meanwhile, the Civil Service Protection and Training Commission has unveiled amendments to regulations on the protection of civil servant safety and hygiene. These amendments mandate that investigations into potential workplace bullying cases be completed within two months and prohibit retaliatory actions against complainants. The ministry has frequently consulted with the commission over the proposed legal revisions, and both agencies agree that the definition of workplace bullying, grievance handling, and investigation procedures should be consistent for civil servants and private-sector workers.
Hung noted that while there will inevitably be some differences in penalties and legal remedies due to the different systems for public servants and private-sector workers, the investigation procedures for both systems should ensure impartiality and fairness.