On April 19, 2023, the Department of Labor, Taipei City approved the "Guidelines for Promoting Business Entities to Convene the Labor-Management Meetings" (the "Guidelines"), which was announced and became effective on April 24, 2023. The main purpose of the Guidelines is to encourage business entities to convene labor-management meetings regularly, to remind business entities of the matters that should be noted in the implementation of labor-management meetings, and to strengthen the mechanism of labor participation, so that business entities can convene regular labor-management meetings to improve worker-employer relationships and promote worker-employer cooperation. The main points of the Guidelines are as follows:

 

1.    Decision on Election Issues

When the labor union conducts the election of representatives from the labor side (from labor union members or non-labor union members) for labor-management meetings, the number of representatives from the labor side to be allocated, the announcement (date, time and place of voting) and the method (election at the general meeting of members or member representatives of a labor union, directly elected or not) of the election shall be decided by the labor union through internal democratic procedures. The aforementioned allocation of representatives from the labor side shall be made in consideration of the the number of employees in each branch office, department or job.

 

2.  Voting in elections is based on the principle of physical voting, but voting can also be done via technology.

The voting shall be conducted in accordance with the principle of physical voting (or divisional physical voting and separate vote counting). However, if there are other special circumstances, it may be appropriate to implement other means after a resolution of the labor-management meeting in accordance with Article 19 of Regulations for Implementing Labor-Management Meeting (using digital technology and other means of voting, such as LINE or GOOGLE forms, etc.). In addition, attention should be paid to the duty of confidentiality to the electors in handling the voting method in order to reduce disputes.

 

3.   After the election and designation of the labor-management meeting representatives are completed, the name list of representatives shall be sent to the Department of Labor, Taipei City Government for reference.

After the election and designation of the labor-management meeting representatives are completed, the business entities shall send the name list of representatives and alternate representatives from the labor side to the Department of Labor, Taipei City Government for reference within 15 days; the same procedure shall apply when replacement, by-election, re-designation, or reduction of the number of representatives occurs.

 

4.    Business entities and their branch offices with more than 30 workers shall convene their own labor-management meetings, and shall not be combined. The number of workers includes full-time workers, part-time workers and foreign workers employed by the business entities.

 

5.    Convening labor-management meetings regularly

The business entities shall convene each meeting within a fixed period of time. However, considering the special circumstances of internal worker-employer relationships, the business entities may set its own labor-management meetings every three months (or less than three months) and convene at least one labor-management meeting within the selected period.

 

6.    Labor-management meetings can be held by means of visual communication network

If the business entities hold labor-management meetings by means of visual communication network, it should not only be approved by a resolution of the labor-management meetings, but should also ensure that the meetings are conducted transparently and that the entire meeting can be seen and heard by all attendees. In addition, the minutes of the meetings shall be recorded by electronic records that can identify the attendees for the purpose of calculating the number of attendees and the number of votes for and against any of the resolutions.

 

7.    Calculating the number of attending delegates

Before the meetings, it should be confirmed that the labor representatives from the labor side and the management side should attend the labor-management meetings in person, and that there is more than one half of the representatives from each side in attendance. If one half of the representatives from each side cannot attend the meeting, another meeting date shall be set. In addition, delegates who do not physically attend the meeting may submit written comments at the time of the meeting for the delegates' reference. However, they will not be included in the calculation of the number of attendees and the number of delegates. The representatives from the management side may be reassigned at any time due to changes in duties or vacancies. If the labor representative from the labor side is absent or unable to exercise his or her duties for any reason, an alternate representative may replace him or her.

 

8.    The exercise of the right to consent may be subject to deadlines

Resolutions of the labor-management meetings may be subject to deadlines if they relate to the exercise of the right to consent under Article 30, Article 30-1, Article 32, Article 34 and Article 36 of the Labor Standards Act.

 

9.    Meeting documents should be retained for five years

The minutes of the labor-management meetings should be signed by the chair of the meetings and the recorder, and should be distributed to those present and in attendance. The minutes, meeting notices, proposals, agendas, sign-in sheets, and other relevant documents should be retained by the business entities for five years. Resolutions of labor-management meetings should be distributed by the business entities to the labor union and relevant departments for implementation.

 

10. Minutes of meetings shall be faithfully recorded without forgery or falsification

The following are not allowed in the minutes of the labor-management meetings:

(1)   Matters not proposed for discussion but included in the resolution.

(2)   The representatives from the labor side or the management side do not attend the labor-management meetings but their signatures appear in the minutes.

(3)   Any other forgery or falsification.

If there is a dispute over the contents of the minutes of the meetings, the burden of proof shall be on the business entities, and the business entities shall have the obligation to provide the necessary information.

 

11. Implementation of the Resolutions

Both the labor and the management sides shall implement the resolutions of the labor-management meetings in good faith, and shall inform the representatives of both parties of the status of the implementation of the resolutions. If the implementation of the resolutions of the labor-management meetings are subject to change of circumstances or impediments, they may be submitted to the next meeting for reconsideration, and the difficulties in implementation shall be specifically stated for the benefit of the representatives of both sides.

 

12.Violation effects

If the business entities violate the provisions of the Guidelines, the Department of Labor will send its staff to conduct a special inspection of labor conditions, counsel by administrative guidance, and suggest improvements. If there is a violation of the Labor Standards Act after inspection (e.g., a matter that should be approved by the labor-management meeting but has not been approved by the labor-management meeting), a fine will be imposed in accordance with the Act.

 

Lee and Li's Labor Practice Group provides consulting and other professional services regarding various kinds of labor issues. Should you have any questions in respect of the Guidelines announced and enacted by Department of Labor, Taipei City Government or any other labor-related laws and regulations, please feel free to contact our team.