Control Yuan Censures Ministry of Labor for Negligence|勞基新制評估爭議 監院糾正勞動部等

After much controversy, the revised Labor Standards Act came into effect on March 1. Under the amendments, employers can use various exclusions to adjust work shift schedules to make employees work consecutive shifts or more than six days a week. However, the Control Yuan says the Ministry of Labor failed to give other government agencies time to assess the changes. This means any meetings between management and labor convened by for example the Ministry of Economic Affairs or Ministry of Health and Welfare were rushed and sloppy. Therefore, the Control Yuan has issued a formal motion to censure the Ministry of Labor and others.


Numerous labor protests have been held since the Ministry of Labor began reviewing six-day workweek exclusion applications mid-last month. Under the Tsai administration's labor revisions, government agencies can review labor conditions in various industries and professions and recommend need-based exclusions to the Ministry of Labor. The Control Yuan says the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Transportation and Communications and others are convening labor-capital negotiations hastily and haphazardly so labor unions don't have time to prepare for the meetings. There has also been a clear imbalance between labor and capital representation at the meetings.

The ratio of (labor and capital representative) is completely out of whack. Also, in the beginning, we weren't even notified meetings were being held. As soon as we found out, we rushed to apply to the Ministry of Labor (for permission to attend the meeting). Only then did the Ministry of Labor or Ministry of Transportation and Communications allow us to attend, but they did so very reluctantly.

The Control Yuan report also said the Ministry of Labor is sorely lacking necessary audit standards for exclusion applications, with one example being companies that have rush orders to fill. Labor groups say employers always have an idea when rush orders may come in and they can preemptively adjust shift schedules. This means there is no need for employers to use the recent revisions to force labor costs onto workers. The Control Yuan also says to date, the ministry has failed to perform any kind of risk analysis on overwork.

The Control Yuan's censure report also mentions that some industries claim they would face a manpower shortage if they don't do this. If you go with what they say, all 365 industries would qualify for exclusions.

The government's unpopular labor revisions have been fraught with controversy. The Control Yuan says the ministry has been severely negligent, and this is why labor groups are decrying the government's oversight system as invalid and accusing the government of turning exceptions into the norm. The Control Yuan has censured the Ministry of Labor and other agencies. In a press release, the ministry said it "respects" the Control Yuan's decision but it "absolutely" is living up to its responsibilities.