Taiwan revises Occupational Safety and Health Education and Training Rules

On July 7, 2021, Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor released the revised “Occupational Safety and Health Education and Training Rules”. Article 32 of “Occupational Safety and Health Act” requires employers to provide workers with the necessary safety and health education and training for their work. The above-mentioned Rules, as revised this time, stipulate the specific rules.

The revised rules will come into effect on the date of release, but because of preparation on the part of employers, the effective date of some provisions has been set for 6 months or 1 year after the release. The main revision are as follows

Expansion of the scope of persons in charge of workers’ health care

Personnel related to workers’ health care, such as “psychological counselors,” “occupational therapists,” and “physical therapists,” were added to “health service care personnel” as the target of education and training in the Rules. (Article 2, etc.).

Safety and health education and trainings for operators using cranes for slinging operations become mandatory.

Article 14 stipulates the employer shall require workers, who will be in charge of specified operations, to receive safety and health education and trainings specified for special operations. And in this revision, “operators using cranes for slinging operations ” was added.

Requirement for the establishment of vocational training organizations

In order to protect the rights and interests of workers, a provision has been added that a vocational training organization must be established when management organizations, labor unions, or businesses conduct general safety and health education and training.

The original text of the above revised Rules can be viewed at the following URL (in traditional Chinese).
https://law.moj.gov.tw/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?pcode=N0060010