Driver behind deadly derailment in Taiwan’s Yilan had worked a nearly 18-hour shift during week before accident

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/10/30
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Wrecked Puyuma engine. (By Central News Agency)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Labor (MOL) today announced that an investigation into the schedule of the driver behind the deadly derailment of a Puyuma Express train in Taiwan’s Yilan County revealed that he had worked a 17-hour shift a week before the accident, in clear violation of the provisions of the Labor Standards Act (勞基法), reported CNA.

At a press conference today, the MOL announced the results of an inquest into the work schedule of the 48-year-old driver in the deadly derailment of a Puyuma Express train on Oct. 21 – Yu Chen-chung (尤振仲). It found that over the six months prior to the accident, Yu, who whose official job title is “Scheduling Supervisor” rather than “Driver,” had worked overtime on many occasions, in many cases in violation of the “one fixed day off, one flexible day off” (一例一休) regulations.

According to the MOL’s findings, on Oct. 5, Yu worked for a total of 13 hours and 1 minute in the office, a portion of which was overtime. In response to a change in train schedules on Oct. 12, Yu worked from Oct. 11 to 12 on scheduling and other matters for a total of 17 hours and 41 minutes, representing an illegal length of overtime.
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