Calls for reforms arise after suicide at the Ministry of Labor

Calls for reforms arise after suicide at the Ministry of Labor

2024-11-21

The National Federation of Teachers Unions and lawmakers from the DPP, KMT and TPP are calling for top-down reforms to improve working conditions for civil servants. The group held a press conference on the matter on Thursday. The presser comes amid general uproar over the recent suicide of a Ministry of Labor employee who had suffered workplace bullying.

The National Federation of Teachers Unions and lawmakers from the DPP, KMT and TPP are deeply concerned about the recent suicide of a public servant in his office.

Hou Chun-liang
National Federation of Teachers Unions
We think that this incident is just the tip of the iceberg. How many workers are currently experiencing workplace bullying? How many are being harassed by superiors? There are workplaces where you can’t file a complaint. Or there is a channel to complain, but you get a talking-to if you use it.

The National Federation of Teachers Unions is calling for a thorough inspection of the work environment of public servants and has put forward five key demands: allowing the formation of labor unions for civil servants, meting out severe punishments for abuses of power in the workplace, conducting a second investigation of the suicide case by an independent agency, opening up channels for worker complaints and launching a probe to crack down on unlawful promotions.

Tu Chuan-chi
Lawmaker (KMT)
I hope that by forming unions, workers will have a channel to air their complaints. That way, we can prevent a situation like in the Workforce Development Agency under the Ministry of Labor, where the complainant was given a talking-to.

Liu Chien-kuo
Lawmaker (DPP)
We know that the response from the leadership of the agency was extremely negative. We are working hard to move in a positive direction. But we still need to make adjustments on a lot of fronts.

The group called on the government to allow the formation of labor unions for civil servants and establish complaint channels to create better workplace environments.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

勞動部公務員之死全教總:開放公務員組職工會

2024-11-21

勞動部公務員之死震驚各界，今天(21)全國教師工會與藍綠白立委，共同召開記者會，表示這次事件，只是冰山一角，呼籲政府應開放公務員組織工會，徹底檢討，建立完善的申訴管道，才能避免憾事再發生。

齊聲高喊口號，全國教師工會與藍綠白立委，為公務員之死發出沉痛吶喊。

[[全教總理事長侯俊良]]
“我們也認為這件事情，絕對只是冰山一角，現在還有多少人，在職場上是遭受這樣的職場霸凌，遭受這樣的職權霸凌，他投訴無門，或者是他投訴了反而被整肅”

全教總呼籲應重新檢視公務人員的職場環境，更提出「開放公務員組織工會」、「嚴懲職場霸權」、「獨立單位重新徹查」、「改善員工申訴」、「徹查不法升遷」等五大訴求。

[[立委（國）涂權吉]]
“希望藉由這個組工會，讓他有一個發聲的管道，避免像我們這一次勞動部勞發署，申訴以後，反而變成被約談的對象”

[[立委（民）劉建國]]
“從這個機關的主管，回應這樣的一個作為，我們就知道非常的不友善，我們努力趕快讓它朝向友善的方向去走，但是很多的面向，必須要趕快來做一些調整”

喊話政府開放公務人員組織工會，規劃完善的申訴機制，還給社會一個友善的職場環境。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週日至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

Related News

Premier12: Taiwan excited for US game after defeat vs Venezuela

2024-11-21

Labor Ministry suicide victim supervisor rejects connection to worker’s death

2024-11-21

International Airport Forum at Taoyuan Taoyuan International Airport holds international

Taoyuan International Airport held a forum to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the aviation industry. Over 200 representatives and experts from the government and academia attended to share and exchange dialogue about the latest trends in the industry. FTV reporter Stephany Yang has the details.

Representatives and experts gathered at the Taoyuan International Airport, to attend an international forum on the latest trends and breakthroughs in the aviation industry.

Lee Chun-te
Taoyuan International Airport senior vice president
Many of the topics at the forum will focus on achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and sustainability, which is in accordance with national policies. In the past, Taoyuan International Airport slowly moved towards utilizing electric trolleys, and recently it has also re-coordinated with the national government’s policies to think about the direction of lowering carbon emissions or introducing sustainable fuel.

In the post-pandemic era, the airline industry has experienced recovery in international travel demand. With the rise of AI, net-zero sustainability, human resource restructuring and other issues, airports around the world are actively introducing innovative technologies and promoting sustainable development. The forum attracted over 200 scholars and experts from home and abroad. One of the speakers was Airports Council International Asia-Pacific and Middle East Director General Stefano Baronci.

Stefano Baronci
ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East director general
The global trends is to be much more selective in terms of the choice for traveling. The reason is that there is a surge in terms of leisure passengers that are eager to travel. It involves not just millennials but also gen z generations so airports have to diversify their value propositions. They have to do so in order to improve the well-being of the passengers because the passengers now is not simply looking to from A to B but is looking for personalized experiences.

The ACI Asia Pacific and Middle East Human Resources Committee meeting at Taoyuan International Airport is the very first to be held, during which a sister airport agreement was also signed with Kumamoto Airport in Japan. It also hopes to deepen international exchanges through the forum and implement new practices to provide passengers with a more convenient and comfortable travel experience.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-11-21

Tainan unveils artisanal goods to be on offer at new expo park

2024-11-21

Court issues state compensation for hazardous drainage design

When cycling, you might not think anything of checking the ground you’re riding on, but you probably should. In 2022, a cyclist in Maolin District in Kaohsiung had her bike get stuck on a drainage grate, which caused her to be lurched forward onto the ground. A district court on first ruling, ordered the Maolin District Office to compensate the cyclist NT$217,000. Even though this type of large-grid drainage grates are only installed in areas prone to flooding, do take note of what’s under your feet to avoid serious accidents.

This drainage channel across the road near the remote village of Kongadawan in Kaohisung’s Maolin District caused a cyclist to get bad injuries in 2022.

Her bike had got stuck on the drainage grate, lurching her forward onto the ground. She filed a lawsuit asking for more than NT$960,000 in state compensation. The Ciaotou District Court has ruled that deficient management by the Maolin District Office was to blame, awarding compensation of NT$217,000 to the cyclist. The ruling can be appealed.

Cyclist
You have to avoid the wide gaps on the grates, but even if you try to do it, some people still fall over. Not so much now, because nowadays the grates have metal plates on wider gaps.

Cyclist
Smaller tires can’t get past, like the narrower wheels on racing bikes. It depends on the thickness of the wheel. Like these bigger ones on my bike won’t have problems. But bikes designed to ride up mountains could get stuck.

Over in downtown Kaohsiung, there are similar grates on some of the streets. Though they appear flat enough and don’t have much of a height difference between bars, the galvanized metal is actually quite slippery. In addition, the gaps between bars are quite wide. Even in areas where the bars are closer together, there is still a chance of accidents. So why doesn’t the city just change all the grates to a design safer for cyclists?

Tseng Hsien-lin
Kaohsiung Water Resources Bureau
The grates have bigger drainage holes than the old black iron grates. That allows rainwater to pour in faster. The grates need to withstand a higher capacity, so the holes are smaller and closer together. That’s what makes them different from the grates in Maolin.

Though flatter grates with smaller grids are theoretically safer, cyclists and people wearing high heels are still advised to step aside when they see grates with designs similar to those that have caused accidents in the past.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-11-21

University in Nantou introduces e-scooter sharing system

2024-11-21

Taipei eatery banks on nostalgic online game decor to draw clientele

2024-11-21

Renowned composer Jorg Widmann holds concerts and workshops in Taiwan

Exciting news for music lovers! World renowned award-winning German composer Jörg Widmann is holding a series of concerts and workshops in Taiwan. FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to Widmann to find out more.

Jörg Widmann is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. Some of his most renowned compositions are the concert overture “Con Brio,” and opera “Babylon.” Widmann is holding a series of workshops and concerts in Taiwan.

Jörg Widmann
Composer
In some concerts, you hear only classical music or in some concerts you hear only new music. Our idea is to mix. We will present two programs including Mozart and my music in one program. And in the other program, Beethoven and my music. All of us, we believe very strongly in the fact that this gives inspiration to each other. When you have heard my music, you maybe listen in a different way to the modernity of Mozart and to Beethoven. That is exactly the idea about these workshops as well, to know the music of the past better in order to go somewhere else.

In 2023, Widmann was acknowledged as the third most performed living contemporary composer in the world. He started playing the clarinet when he was 7 and started composing at the age of 9.

Jörg Widmann
Composer
I started playing the clarinet when I was 7. Shortly after, I started composing so at the age of 9 or something I think. The reason is that when I practiced the clarinet, I improvised a lot. I was very angry that I could not remember the beautiful moments of the inspiration of the improvisation of the day before. I had to find a way to notate it so I started composing.

Aside from composing, he is also a professor. Widmann dedicates 14 hours a day to creation when working on a piece. He says he seeks inspiration from his daily life and travels.

Jörg Widmann
Composer
Each time when I am in Taiwan I get a lot of inspiration. Therefore, I will compose a lot these days. I am writing a piece for the conductor Kent Nagano. Not every day I work for 14 hours, but when I am in a middle of a piece then there is nothing else. Even after these 14 hours, I try to sleep, I switch the lights off, I try to sleep but I can’t. I continue for maybe one more hour. The body is tired of course, but that is the beautiful thing about music. You are obsessed about it in the most wonderful sense. It is an inspiration.

Widmann and the National Symphony Orchestra are collaborating to hold a series of workshops and concerts till Dec. 1.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-11-21

Airline pilots earn 10 times as much as lowest-paid workers

New figures from the Ministry of Labor have revealed Taiwan’s top-paid jobs! Many people assume that tech is the best-paid industry, but that’s not quite true. Technically, the best-paid job is airline pilot. The long training and demanding mental and physical pressures of the work make this a very well-renumerated job. The figures also show that Taiwan’s lowest-paid workers earn just one tenth of that top salary, a stark income gap that some might find surprising.

What do you think is the highest-paid job? Well, the stats show that in Taiwan, it’s aircraft pilot. The Ministry of Labor reveals that pilots earn an average of NT$315,000 a month – the highest of any profession. Second is actuaries at NT$205,000 a month, and third doctors at NT$171,000.

Voice of Li Hsin-yen
Taoyuan Union of Pilots
The whole training process takes about two years. Every six months, we have to get into a simulator to do an annual test. And until the age of 40, we have to do a physical health test every year.

But that high salary comes with a price, so to speak. It takes a lot to certify as a pilot, and they need to be prepared for an emergency at all times, taking responsibility for the lives of many people. Doctors have life or death responsibilities too. What about actuaries? Well, only 42 people in Taiwan have gained this incredibly exacting professional certification.

Member of public
I would guess an actuary earns about NT$100,000 a month. Yeah. It’s very hard to qualify.

Member of public
You have to be careful, flying a plane. If something goes wrong, it’s a disaster for the whole plane.

Tech engineers have an average monthly income of NT$138,000, and come in at no. 8, lower than many people imagine.

Tseng Chung-wei
Jobseekers’ website spokesperson
There are differences in the starting salaries for manufacturing careers or tech careers, and in their monthly salaries. And at the same time, there are big difference between different types of engineers: low-level, mid-level and high-level engineers have quite a dramatic gulf between their salaries.

The lowest salary is ascribed to “basic workers and laborers,” with an average salary of NT$32,000 a month. They’re earning only about a tenth of what those at the top of the pyramid earn: an astonishing income gap.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-11-21