According to Bureau of Labor Insurance statistics, labor insurance occupational accident payments for disabilities are provided to approximately 3,500 persons (including traffic accidents) annually. In addition, from the statistics and results of the occupational accident disabled worker employment care survey by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) for 2015, it is estimated that there are approximately 800 occupational accident workers that may require assistance for returning to work or re-employment every year. The MOL provides relevant assistances such as psychological counseling and help with social adaptation, assessment and hardening of work capacity, job accommodation, vocational training and employment services, etc. to occupational accident workers for them to re-enter the workforce. These assistances can provide timely and suitable assistances based on these workers’ current situations and needs. According to statistics, for workers who actively participate and cooperate with the ministry, the rate of returning to work is as high as eighty percent. The MOL calls upon occupational accident workers and their employers to put these free resources to good use.
One such example is Mr. Tseng who was a maintenance worker for an electronic factory in Kaohsiung City. While he was working, he accidentally fell from a high place and suffered traumatic brain injury and intracranial hemorrhage. Afterwards, he received surgery from a hospital and undergone physical therapy. An occupational accident case manager at the local government (such positions are subsidized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the MOL) took the initiative and visited Mr. Tseng in the hospital. The case manager provided timely psychological and actual assistances by providing legal counseling on relevant occupational laws and regulations and actively assisted Mr. Tseng to seek wage compensation from his employer and to apply for labor insurance occupational accident injury payment. After several months of medical care and physical therapy, his condition improved and stabilized. However, he still suffered from conditions such as insufficient lower limb balance, poor finger flexibility, and slightly impaired hearing. In order to help Mr. Tseng return to work as quickly as possible, through the help of the occupational rehabilitation unit of the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (this unit was established through OSHA’s subsidy), there were meetings with experts and assessments of Mr. Tseng’s working abilities. His work was adjusted to doing computer document processing after communicating with his employer. This adjustment in work became the objectives for his work hardening program. In addition, professional team from the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital acted in concert to conduct a site visit of Mr. Tseng’s workplace and counseled the employer to apply to get assistive facilities required in the business unit’s workplace. Also, a job accommodation was conducted to assist Mr. Tseng’s smooth return to work with his original employer.
To provide individualized in-depth services to occupational accident workers using the case management approach, OSHA has promoted the “Family Assistance Program” at all local government levels and set up the outsourced “Occupational Accident Worker Consultation Hotline”. These services provide proactive care and communication to occupational accident workers to understand their needs and also provide relevant consultations and resource referral connecting services. To help occupational accident workers return to work or be re-employed, OSHA subsidized 15 institutions such as the National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Changhua Christian Hospital, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and so forth to set up “occupational rehabilitation units”. In addition, OSHA also linked up with all regional centers of occupational disease and injury service nationwide which were established through entrustment to provide occupational rehabilitation related services. In other words, if occupational accident workers require assistance to return to work, they can receive all the aforementioned dedicated integrated services before returning to work. Through case managers at local governments, they are able to be assisted through services such as the “Occupational Accident Worker Consultation Hotline”, assistance from “occupational rehabilitation units”, and assistance from “occupational disease and injury service centers and their network hospitals”.
The MOL states that factors such as the level of occupational injury suffered, situation of the medical rehabilitation and recovery, physical and mental conditions, communications and coordination with the original work unit and employers, and so forth will each affect the return to work of occupational accident workers. The return to work plan for each worker must also be tailor made and executed by responsible professional teams. In addition to providing return to work assistance services, OSHA also works with public and private medical entities, private groups, worker’s health services and occupational disease and injury service centers to provide occupational accident workers with relevant assistances such as psychological counseling and help with social adaptation. If the occupational accident worker does not want to return to the former workplace but still has a need to be re-employed, he or she will be referred to the employment counseling system of the Workforce Development Agency of the MOL which provides relevant assistances including vocational training, business startup counseling, employment services, and so forth.
The MOL emphasizes that workers are the most important assets of employers. Finding suitable work and providing necessary assistive facilities to help occupational accident workers are legal responsibilities of employers. Business entities or occupational accident workers that require relevant measures to help in returning to work can get in touch with contact windows in charge of occupational accidents at all local governments or the occupational accident worker consultation hotline: 0800-001-850. (For information on local family assistance program contact windows, occupational rehabilitation units, worker’s health services and occupational disease and injury service centers, please refer to the attachment)
