Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-05-11

The government’s new labor law will exacerbate the already challenging working conditions for nurses across Taiwan. That was word from the Taiwan Nurses Union on Friday.

A recent survey by the union shows that nurses in Taiwan are severely overworked, both in terms of total number of work hours and workload. The survey shows that nurses work 9.65 hours a day on average, and they do not receive overtime pay for the first two hours they work outside a regular shift. Around 90% of the nurses have been owed overtime pay at some point.

The survey also shows that the ratio of number of patients to nurses is dangerously high. During a night shift, one nurse has to tend to 28 patients on average, compared to an ideal standard of seven. The union said that being so short-handed could put patients in jeopardy in an emergency.

The union said the government’s latest amendment to the labor law will worsen working conditions since its flexible nature will allow medical institutions to further exploit nurses.    [FULL  STORY]