UP Law WEP Takes Part in 2023 Occupational Safety, Health and Rehabilitation Conference in Taipei

The UP Law Workers and Employees Program (WEP) performed several roles during the 2023 Occupational Safety, Health and Rehabilitation International Conference held at the Grand Hotel, Taipei City, Taiwan, last 10-11 November 2023.

WEP is the Secretariat of the Asian Society of Labour Law (AsianSLL), which co-organized the Conference.

Organized by the Ministry of Labour, coordinated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Center for Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation, managed by the Tianyi Management Consulting Co., Ltd., and co-organized by the Taiwan Labour Law Association, the Conference gathered labor law practitioners, academics, and scholars from across Asia.

The AsianSLL issued the call for papers for conference tracks A & B in March 2023. A screening committee, composed of AsianSLL President, Professor Dr Chin-Chin Cheng, AsianSLL Executive Council Member Professor Dr Kamala Sankaran, and WEP Member and AsianSLL Member Professor Marwil Llasos, selected the presenters based on the abstracts.

Minister Ming-Chun Hsu of the Ministry of Labor, Professor Cheng, President of Asian Society of Labour Law, and Professor Guan-Chiau Chiou, Secretary General of Taiwan Labour Law Association, warmly welcomed everyone to the Conference. Professor Cheng reiterated the mission and vision of the AsianSLL.
The thematic discussions for conference tracks A & B followed, during which various labor law experts and law students presented papers focused on the following themes: (1) Employers’ Responsibilities and Workers’ Rights; (2) Governments’ Duties; (3) Preventive and Protective Measures; (4) Health Promotion, Education and Training; (5) and Other Issues. A track C likewise took place on the second day, simultaneously with track B.

As moderated by Professor Cheng, the first thematic discussion on Employers’ Responsibilities and Workers’ Rights began with the health problem of multiple job workers in Japan. This was followed by a presentation on the Mental Health of Workers under Work-Anywhere Schemes in the Philippines led by WEP Senior Legal Associate and AsianSLL Member Atty. Emir-Deogene V. Mendoza and Ms. Grazianne-Geneve V. Mendoza of the Philippines. The panel then proceeded with the implementation of occupational safety and health regulation in Vietnam, particularly in the construction and wood manufacturing industries. WEP Member and AsianSLL Member Professor Marwil N. Llasos served as one of the discussants for this session.

The second thematic discussion on Govenment’s Duties focused on the increase in the number of freelancers and application of the workers’ compensation system to them in Japan, on the exclusive remedy theory in Workmen’s Compensation Law in Thailand, and on the efforts in improving a safe and healthy workplace against workplace sexual harassment in Taiwan.

The third thematic discussion on Preventive and Protective Measures was moderated by WEP Founding Program Director and AsianSLL Executive Council Member Professor Patricia R.P. Salvador Daway. This session underscored the critical role of the State in empowering health and safety endeavors for construction workers in India, the right to disconnect and workers’ safety and health in Malaysia, and the challenges and prospects of the Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act in Taiwan. WEP Member and AsianSLL Secretary-General Associate Professor E. (Leo) D. Battad likewise served as one of the discussants in this session.

The fourth thematic discussion on Health Promotion, Education and Training centered on the right to production safety in relation to the right to occupational safety and health, the regulations on health promotion and safety at work for employees and informal workers in Vietnam, as well as the law for domestic workers in urban India. WEP Program Director and AsianSLL Member Professor Arnold F. de Vera served as one of the discussants in this session.

Lastly, the thematic discussion on Other Issues, at which point WEP Junior Legal Associate Attorney Jasper Frederick Briones also served as a discussant, concentrated on the following topics: the protection and security for gig workers, with comparative law case-study of Thailand and Choice-of-Law analysis; the intersection of labor and social protection through a case study of union strategies for workers’ injury insurance protection in Taiwan; and the main challenges for Poland in ratifying and implementing the International Labour Organization Convention No. 155 & No. 187.

Additionally, conference track C touched on the following topics: rehabilitation services for persons with work injury in Taiwan, Korean workers’ compensation insurance for diseases and injuries and their return to work, employment support for injured and ill workers in Japan, as well as preventing major injuries and diseases to save lives, health insurance costs, and productivity losses. This was followed by various domestic paper presentations that featured, among others, the prevention of unlawful infringements in the execution of duties and occupational safety and health management systems with a focus on the Act of Gender Equality in Employment, the job accommodation for a convenience store clerk, the results of occupational rehabilitation services by a Regional Teaching Hospital in Central Taiwan, and the efficacy of the Exoskeleton Robot ‘KeeogoTM.’

A banquet was held to welcome the participants. They were likewise given a tour of the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

The Conference concluded with the Executive Council and General Membership meetings of the AsianSLL. The body agreed to hold the next Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.