Offic Service Agency publishes proposed updates of the anti-bullying rules

Taipei, March 2 (CNA) An agency who is responsible for the protection of the officials in Taiwan has officially proposed changes to combat bullying at work in government agencies.

The Commission for the Protection and Training of the Public Service published a 34-page document on its website on Thursday, in which the proposed changes to the “Measures for the safety and health protection of civil servants” were described.

Under the proposed changes, the procedures for processing bullying complaints at the workplace would be strengthened, and government agencies would be obliged to carry out “self-inspections, regular spot checks and spot-falling checks of subordinate agencies”, according to the document.

In addition, agencies would prioritize the financing for “setting up emergency plans” and other implementation measures.

The proposed changes also provide for anti-bullying examination teams to complete their investigations and have a report within two months, although this period could be extended by one month if necessary.

Other changes aim to strengthen protection for complainants, including special provisions for female officials and “personnel with high risk”.

The changes are currently being subjected to a seven-day review period. During this time, members can submit their opinion to the public.

At the end of the review period, the Commission is expected to send the final draft of the changes to the supervisory organization, the Yuan examination.

Next, it will be sent to the legislative Yuan so that the legislator is taken into account in accordance with the established protocol.

The strengthening of anti-bullying rules for civil servants has followed a series of top-class cases in the past few months.

In November, the then Laborin Minister Ho Pei-Shan (何佩珊) resigned to dealing with the suicide of an official at the beginning of the month.

The incident caused Premier Cho Jung-Tai (卓榮泰) and President Lai Ching-Te (賴清德) to request the end of bullying at work in the public service separately.