Development of workers' compensation and the current system in Taiwan

Occupational accidents and diseases have always been major social concerns in all industrialized countries. How to compensate injured workers has also been the center of controversy in labor affairs. In this paper, we review the development and transformation of workers' compensation systems in western countries. We also review the development and current condition of the system in Taiwan. Workers' compensation systems in western countries were forged under the influence of social and political factors. Such systems represent a major legal reform that shifts liability for workplace accidents from negligence liability to a no-fault principle, and from an individual employer's responsibility to shared responsibility covered by social insurance. Most countries have adopted social insurance systems with a no-fault principle. These systems have been designed to reduce labor conflicts, to share employers' financial burden, as well as to ensure that injured workers are compensated in a timely manner. The present system in Taiwan is social insurance system with a no-fault principle and is based on the "Labor Insurance Act". However, this system is complicated by other co-existing legislation, including the "Labor Standard Law" that requires individual employers to compensate their affected employees, as well as the "Occupational Safety and Health Act" and other civil laws that make employers liable for workplace accidents. The system in Taiwan is complicated and problematic, and might pose difficulties for injured workers.