[International] EU Emphasizes Gig Worker Rights, Hung Shen-han: Taiwan's Legislative Thinking Aligns with International Conventions
bellala 央廣5h ago
The 7th Taiwan-EU Labor Consultation Meeting is underway, with Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun pointing out that Taiwan's legislative thinking for the special law on food delivery services aligns with the goals of international conventions. In response to the global trend against forced labor, the government is comprehensively strengthening labor rights and assisting businesses in reducing trade risks, transforming challenges into international competitiveness.
Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun led a delegation to Brussels on the 17th to attend the 7th Taiwan-EU Labor Consultation Meeting and was interviewed by CNA.
Taiwan's "Act on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Food Delivery Workers and Management of Food Delivery Platforms" (Special Law for Food Delivery) was passed by the Legislative Yuan in its third reading in January this year and promulgated by the President, with an effective date of July 21st. This meeting involved in-depth discussions on issues related to the digital platform economy.
Hsu Ming-chun stated that the labor challenges brought about by the platform economy are a global issue, not unique to Taiwan. The International Labour Conference (ILC) held recently in Geneva, Switzerland, adopted a convention concerning labor rights in the platform economy. He further explained that after cross-referencing, it was found that many aspects covered by the special law are similar to the goals of the ILC convention, including remuneration protection for food delivery workers, appeal and clarification mechanisms for suspension, transparency in algorithm information collection, occupational safety and health requirements during deliveries, and social insurance, which the convention particularly emphasizes.
Hsu Ming-chun revealed that during this consultation meeting, experts from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) and several participating countries highly commended Taiwan for enacting the special law for food delivery and for its in-depth implementation.
In response to countries like the Netherlands and Lithuania sharing their experiences in translating EU directives into domestic law at the meeting, Hsu Ming-chun pointed out that countries are also considering how to maintain industry innovation and flexibility while protecting workers' rights when regulating the platform economy.
Hsu Ming-chun emphasized that the EU and the international community both stress "multilateral social dialogue." Understanding and communication among stakeholders such as platforms, platform workers (like food delivery workers), and consumers can help find common ground and consensus on complex issues.
In addition to the platform economy, "forced labor" in global supply chains was also a key topic at this Taiwan-EU Labor Consultation Meeting.
Hsu Ming-chun said that forced labor is no longer just a human rights issue but also involves trade risks. As Taiwan's role in global supply chains becomes increasingly important, more countries will view Taiwan's supply chain manufacturers according to international standards. Therefore, if Taiwan can fulfill its responsibilities, it can enhance the international trust and competitiveness of its businesses. In fact, some domestic manufacturers have already informed the Ministry of Labor that doing a good job in human rights protection indeed helps consolidate competitiveness and gain trust.
Regarding the government's role in this, Hsu Ming-chun outlined two major tasks: first, to assist businesses in aligning with international requirements and reducing trade risks; second, to help industries control and reduce the costs incurred by this alignment.
He explained that based on past experience, effectively preventing forced labor does not necessarily lead to a significant increase in costs. The Ministry of Labor plans to achieve this goal through concrete measures such as "transparency in foreign recruitment fees," "streamlining processes," and "improving the evaluation of employment agencies."
Hsu Ming-chun added that the Ministry of Labor promulgated the "Reference Guidelines for Businesses on Preventing Forced Labor" on February 13th this year, which requires close inter-ministerial cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and others. Addressing labor rights issues while reducing trade-related risks and uncertainties is something the entire ruling team is currently paying close attention to.
The Taiwan-EU Labor Consultation Meeting has entered its 7th year. Hsu Ming-chun admitted that Taiwan faces many challenges in international participation and therefore cherishes this mechanism for deepening and institutionalizing exchanges. The fact that this meeting has reached its 7th session also signifies that the EU regards Taiwan as an important partner for long-term exchange and cooperation on labor issues.
He pointed out that Taiwan-EU cooperation is no longer just information exchange but has gradually become a substantive cooperative mechanism. For example, in terms of occupational safety and health, a delegation from the Ministry of Labor visited Bilbao, Spain, this week to meet with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). In fact, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's accident prevention plan proposed last year referenced the EU's practices in risk assessment and risk management.
Hsu Ming-chun said that last year, the Director-General of the European Commission's DG EMPL, Mario Nava, personally led a delegation to visit Taiwan, and this year he led a delegation to reciprocate the visit to Brussels. The level of the meetings is increasing, and the cooperation between the two sides is deepening.
He emphasized that more and more labor issues are being discussed, whether it is the platform economy and forced labor focused on in this meeting, or the impact of AI technology on the job market. This shows that it is no longer an internal affair of a single country but a challenge arising from the development of international supply chains. Therefore, Taiwan's labor policy planning and execution processes must be aligned with international standards. Through such platform mechanisms and interactions, while Taiwan draws on EU experience, its legislative experience also has the opportunity to be seen and referenced. (Editor: Liu Hsiang-hua)
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=215186
How does this article make you feel?
0 people reacted