[2013/07/30]
The Legislative Yuan amended the Labor Safety and Health Act on June 18, 2013, renaming it the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and the effective date of the OSHA will be announced by the Executive Yuan. The OSHA expands to a great extent the applicable coverage, and hold employers responsible for having appropriate precautionary measures against incidents, strengthening the protections for workers’ health and safety.
The effective date and the enforcement rules for the OSHA has not been announced yet, but once the act takes effect, it will certainly influence all industries in many ways. For foreign business having Taiwan operations that has not been applicable to Labor Safety and Health Act, it is worth to start now to evaluate the safety of workplace, take precautionary measures to prevent occupational diseases, including implement reasonable work hours. Since the Act has included the employer’s obligation to actively confirm implement safety measures to ensure workers’ safety and health, if work related accidents or diseases occur, the employer would be held liable as tortfeasor. Therefore, failure to provide safety workplace and actively prevent occupational diseases and accidents would give rise to not only the administrative fines but also be liable for the damages and loss of interest suffered by the employees.
The following are some highlights of the OSHA:
1. Expands the applicable coverage to workers of all occupations and workplaces, including interns, the self-employed and freelance workers. Therefore, the act would apply to and affect all industry unless expressly excluded by administrative authorities.
2. Set up a better management system to maintain a healthy workplace and ensure occupational safety and health. Under the OSHA, it is the liability for the employers to plan and take the necessary measures to provide the workers with a safer and healthier place. Facing a rise in work-related deaths, the OSHA also requires employers to take measures such as shortening the work hours or providing regular health examination, which protect workers from overwork, occupational disorders and occupational hazards.
3. Requires the manufacturers, importers, suppliers and employers to establish a machinery, equipment and chemical sources management system:
(1) To guarantee the safety of imported machineries and equipment at their sources, the machineries and equipment designated by the central competent authority cannot be manufactured or transported out of the factories or imported unless they have meet the safety standards.
(2) The manufacturers and importers also needs to register the machineries and equipment that meet the safety standards at the central authority’s website and make safety labels.
(3) Add the obligation of providing or disclosing safety data sheet, preparing inventory list and implementing training and education for hazardous chemical substance to workers. Manufacturers, importers and suppliers shall also label the hazardous substance and provide the safty data sheet before providing hazardous substance to workplace or self-employed workers.
(4) Establish evaluation and authorization mechanisms for new chemical substance and controlled chemical. The manufacturers, importers, suppliers and employers are under obligations to evaluate and obtain permit from the central competent authority.
4. Requires the petroleum cracking industries and workplaces that manufacture or use hazardous chemical more than a specified amount to regularly implement safety assessment and supervision and take necessary precautions against fire or explosion.
5. Removes all discriminatory rules against females and requires employers make work arrangements for pregnant employees and employees who delivered within than one year.
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