After the suicide of a labor ministry employee, public sector workers say they need not just unions and workplace protections, but laws to stop workplace bullying.
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00:00We will abolish the law on factory bullying.
00:04We will abolish the Workers' Union.
00:08Government workers gather outside the cabinet building
00:10to remember one of their own,
00:11lost to suicide early this month
00:13after intense working hours and severe workplace bullying.
00:17The death of this Labour Ministry employee
00:18has made political waves,
00:20toppled the Labour Minister,
00:21and launched debate about how well Taiwan's laws
00:23protect against workplace abuses.
00:26But amid the uproar, public employees say
00:28there's one fact that's been overlooked.
00:30These protections don't apply to them.
00:33In Taiwan, government workers are treated differently.
00:36The Workplace Safety Act doesn't cover them,
00:38and they aren't allowed to form unions
00:39to deal with grievances.
00:41For over a year, they've been saying
00:43this leaves them vulnerable,
00:44and pushing for the same rights other workers have,
00:46rights they say may have helped save
00:48the Labour Ministry worker's life.
00:59Demands for unions and workplace protections
01:01have been bubbling for over a year,
01:02when a violent factory fire killed four firefighters.
01:06But today, there's also a new demand.
01:08They say this suicide isn't isolated,
01:10and it's high time to outlaw workplace bullying,
01:13and for complaints to get an independent review
01:15so that the government can decide
01:17whether to punish the workers or not.
01:19This is the first time the Labour Party
01:21has been so vocal about this issue.
01:23It's a very important issue.
01:25And for complaints to get an independent review
01:28so that bullying complaints
01:29don't get swept under the rug.
01:49The protesters here today say they hope
01:51nationwide anger over this Labour Ministry employee's death
01:53will be what brings change.
01:55But a cabinet official sent to speak to them said
01:57there's nothing he can say.
01:59Any change will need time and the proper channels.
02:02This wasn't what the protesters wanted to hear.
02:24Hurling papers printed with a government report
02:26that says the supervisor's behaviour
02:28that may have led to the latest suicide
02:30wasn't actually bullying,
02:31these protesters are asked to clear off by police.
02:34But they say they won't stop pushing for a country
02:37where the same rules and rights apply to all.
02:40Alex Chen and John Ventri asked for Taiwan Plus.