Taichung earlier this month announced the winners of its occupational health and safety photography contest, organized annually to draw attention to workplace safety.
The 14 winners of the contest represent the best of many submissions across Taiwan, Taichung Labor Affairs Bureau Director-General Chang Ta-chun (張大春) said.
The contest has become a unique facet of Taichung’s culture of occupational safety, Chang said.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung City Government
Photography can encapsulate the immense exertion expended to complete any number of jobs, as well as workers’ brave defiance of these challenges, he said.
It can also arouse public concern over occupational safety, which can in turn help to improve work environments, he added.
The stories contained in each of these photographs remind employers that safety cannot be ignored for the sake of development, and that every worker is a pillar of their family and a valuable company asset, the Taichung City Government said in a news release on Tuesday.
This year, the judges divided the winners into “safety” and “hazard” categories, the Taichung Labor Inspection Office said on Wednesday last week.
In the safety category, which depicts regular dangers people face in the line of work, first place went to Lin Hung-ming (林鴻銘) for a photograph of a worker standing on a platform at the top of a high crane, adjusting the crane’s main load block.
Second place was awarded to Chen Chi-hsuan (陳其軒) for a photograph of four workers talking as they work on power lines from a scissor lift.
Third place went to Yang Hsiu-chu (楊秀珠), whose photograph shows three people suspended in a tangle of high-voltage power lines.
The three are to receive prizes of NT$12,000, NT$10,000 and NT$8,000 respectively, while four honorable mentions are to receive NT$2,000 each.
As for the hazards category, which includes examples of unsafe work habits, the top three selections are to receive NT$8,000 each, while four honorable mentions are to receive NT$2,000 each.
Three of the seven winners were of workers welding or forging without protective gear, including a top selection by Shihkechun Kuma (史可群庫瑪), which is notable for the cigarette hanging out of the welder’s mouth.
The other two top selections went to Hua Wan-ju (花琬茹) and Wu Chao-huai (吳朝槐) for their photographs of workers perched precariously on top of scaffolding.
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