The Ministry of Labor is providing assistance to companies in the 3D/3K industry to improve overall their working environment, health and safety and to increase employment opportunities for the public. The Ministry of Labor has launched the “3C Casting Program” starting 2014. To date, the Ministry of Labor has counseled 50 foundry firms to improve their work environment and has successfully transformed and upgraded the industry.  This has attracted more than 200 young people being successfully employed in this industry, which is a considerable accomplishment. To effectively expand the results of such counseling to other industries, the surface treatment industry will become a focused counseled industry starting in 2016. This is done to assist its transition into a 3C - Clean, Career (advancement) and Competitive - industry and to increase worker interest to work in it.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), there are approximately 1,400 surface treatment companies in Taiwan which employ approximately 30,000 workers and have a production value of approximately NT$ 1 trillion. It is an important and fundamental industry but its companies are mostly small and medium enterprises.  These companies are characterized as having narrow workplaces, dirty work environment, many hazardous chemicals, and loud noises – 3D in terms of being Dirty, Dangerous, and Demanding (in Japanese, 3K of Kitana, Kiken, and Kitsu). Therefore, workers are unwilling to work in such companies. As a result, the industry faces a long-term shortage of labor, shortage of talents, and an aging worker population. In addition to being detrimental to both labor health and safety, it is also detrimental to our national industrial development. There is an urgent need for the government to invest resources to assist and counsel these companies to transform their manufacturing processes and improve the overall healthfulness and safety of their work environments in order to put an end to the stereotype of having a poor perception by the public.

OSHA is looking forward to integrate inter-ministerial resources and the successful experiences of the 3C Casting Program to improve the problems of the surface treatment industry in terms of its working environment being dirty, wet, dark, and so forth by including optimization of the work environment as a subsidy item. This is done in addition to having plans for subsidizing factories to set up safety and health equipment. Also, the ministry will seek out resources of relevant units to promote industry-university cooperation and to develop professionals and talents for this industry. The expectation is that the 3D/3K industry can be transformed into a 3C industry through counseling and be transformed to become an internationally competitive one. At the same time, the willingness by workers to work in this industry will be promoted which will achieve the program objectives of creating win-win situation for all parties involved.

Business owners and managers in surface treatment industry related businesses who are willing to receiving counseling and related consultations are invited to call us at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the Ministry of Labor (MOL). The telephone number to call is: 02-8995-6666, Ext. 8334.