Sixty Percent of Workers Have Suffered Occupational Injuries|台灣工時世界第六 六成勞工曾遇勞災

Taiwan ranks sixth in the world in longest working hours. That's the latest from a survey by an internet job bank released before Labor Day. It also found that 60 percent of Taiwan's workers have had occupational injuries and nearly half have suffered repetitive motion injuries.


Mr. Xie is 53 years old and used to work as a delivery man. One time while he was sorting packages, he suffered a fracture after hardware parts crushed him. He had to undergo an operation and could not work for three months. However, his company refused to let him take an extended leave. Moreover, he was not insured for occupational accident insurance.

I only found out the company did not take out labor insurance for me when I went to the Bureau of Labor Insurance to inquire about it. I went back and spoke with the company about it. The company knew it had done something wrong, so it gave me NT$10,000. They told me I could consider the NT$10,000 my severance pay.

A recent job bank survey found 60 percent of workers have suffered occupational injuries. Nearly 43 percent have suffered repetitive motion injuries, while 33 percent work excessive hours or are overworked. Meanwhile, 32.6 percent have suffered injuries because of the physical positions they work in, and 27.31 percent have suffered workplace accidents. Analysts say Taiwan ranks sixth in longest working hours compared to the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Long working hours mean a greater chance for occupational accidents to occur.

Compared to developed countries, we need to work nearly 34 additional days (a year). Sometimes there may be no time to rest because the allocation of work time is not so equal.

The Labor Standards Act should be amended to make overwork a criminal offense, so labor inspectors can go out and catch this type of employer.