Workplace Bullying Suicide Scandal Sees Labor Minister Resign

President Lai Ching-te apologized to the family of a labor ministry worker who died by suicide after suspected workplace bullying.

Transcript

00:00President Lai Ching-ta has become the highest level politician to apologize to the family

00:06of a Labor Department staffer who died by suicide after being overworked and reportedly

00:11bullied by his superior.

00:30It's the latest apology in a scandal that has seen the resignation of the Labor Minister,

00:35He Peishan, as well as apologies from a former Labor Minister, the country's premier, and

00:41the person accused of bullying the staffer.

01:11The scandal stems from the suicide of a Labor Department worker whose body was found inside

01:16a government building on November 4th.

01:18The death was attributed to overwork and abusive behavior in the workplace.

01:23Democratic Progressive Party legislator Hong Shen-hen has been named the new Labor Minister.

01:29Hong is known for his concern for labor and environmental issues.

01:32A government spokesperson says the new appointment is committed to building a safe workplace

01:37environment, a sentiment echoed by the president.

01:48Lawmakers from different parties say they will continue to look into the case and other

01:52issues around safety in the workplace.

01:55With a new appointment at the ministry, officials and lawmakers hope changes can be made and

01:59lessons learned from the tragedy.

02:02Fu Hua-hong and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.

02:07For more UN videos visit www.un.org