Three of the eight Ministry of Health and Welfare officials under investigation have been confirmed to have engaged in workplace bullying, the ministry said.
After presenting preliminary findings from an investigative task force within the ministry on Nov. 29, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lue Jen-der (呂建德) on Thursday announced the final results of its probe into allegations of workplace bullying.
The task force reviewed eight suspected cases of workplace bullying and confirmed that three of them were substantiated after speaking with about 100 current and former employees, as well as the accused, Lue said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
“We conducted an in-depth examination to determine whether colleagues experienced threats, isolation or intimidation that undermined their confidence and resulted in physical and mental stress,” he added.
As the head of the task force — comprising ministry officials and external experts — Lue said that the judgement was made per the Civil Service Protection Act (公務員保障法) and a set of guidelines against workplace bullying issued by the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration.
The three officials confirmed to have engaged in workplace bullying are a senior inspector at the ministry’s Department of Protective Services, surnamed Lin (林); a senior specialist at the Department of Long-Term Care, surnamed Wang (王); and a senior inspector at the Department of Social Assistance and Social Work, surnamed Wang (王), Lue said.
These officials were found to have engaged in unreasonable conduct, including shouting at subordinates and arbitrarily rejecting submitted documents, Lue said, adding that these actions were deemed an abuse of authority.
Lin and Wang from the Department of Long-Term Care received a major demerit each and were removed from their positions, Lue said, without specifying their new positions.
Lin would also be referred to the Disciplinary Court, where further actions regarding their misconduct would be determined.
Wang from the Department of Social Assistance and Social Work would receive a minor demerit, Lue said.
Three other officials involved in unsubstantiated bullying cases — ministry Secretary General Liu Yu-chuan (劉玉娟); Chu Chien-fang (祝健芳), the head of the Department of Long-Term Care; and Su Chao-ju (蘇昭如), the head of the Department of Social Assistance and Social Work — received punishments ranging from a minor demerit to two reprimands.
Lue said that those penalties were due to issues such as “inappropriate remarks” and failure to prevent workplace bullying.
The only two officials determined not to be involved in workplace bullying and who faced no punishments are National Health Insurance Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Lian-yu (陳亮妤) and an official from the legislative liaison division.
To improve the situation, Lue said the ministry would conduct a comprehensive review of workload and workforce allocation to ensure appropriate staffing levels and equitable distribution of workloads.
The ministry would also work to enhance supervisors’ management skills and provide training to improve communication among colleagues of different ages, Lue added.
Several suspected cases of workplace bullying have recently emerged in government agencies, following the suicide of a Ministry of Labor employee last month, which was confirmed to be linked to workplace bullying.
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