The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA), Executive Yuan, constituted on Aug. 1st, 1987, was restructured to the Ministry of Labor (MOL) from Feb. 17th, 2014 after the reorganization of Executive Yuan.
Based on the needs of promoting a healthy and safe workplace, safeguarding labor rights, gradual completing the protection system for labors suffering from occupational accidents and affording healthy workforce, the three subordinate agencies of CLA including Department of Safety and Health, which obligates the planning of occupational safety and health policies and regulations, Department of Labor Inspection and its north, central, south regional offices, which are responsible for the labor inspection, and the Occupational Accident Labor Protection Office of the Bureau of Labor Insurance, which is in charge of the labor subsidy and rehabilitation of occupational accidents, are merged to Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA. The OSHA was constituted on the same date with that of MOL.
As a third-level agency and being subordinate to the MOL, OSHA is obligated to the formulation and execution of occupational safety and health policies. It comprises of four divisions - Planning Division, Occupational Hygiene and Health Division, Occupational Safety Division, and Occupational Accident Labor Protection Division, and three regional centers – Northern, Central, and Southern Occupational Safety and Health Centers, with total amount of personnel to 334. Its tasks include planning and executing occupational safety and health, occupational accidents labor protection, labor inspection and supervision, and something their related. Its visions are to provide every workers with safety, health, and decent workplaces, to improve the access to competent services of the diagnosis of occupational diseases, occupational compensation and rehabilitation, and to ensure safe and healthy workforce to enhance national competiveness.
The inauguration of OSHA represents a milestone of our national occupational safety and health work. It vertically integrates planning of the occupational health and safety policies and executions, which strengthens the function and efficiency of occupational accident prevention, speeds up the reduction of occupational accident rates, increases the occupational health and care rates, and ensures workers’ health and safety. Also, by means of further horizontal integration of ”Prevention, Compensation, and Rehabilitation”, it brings into the diagnosis of occupational ailments, investigation of occupational diseases, workers’ compensation for occupational accidents and rehabilitation, to strengthen the rights and interests of the victims and to fulfill the goal of national occupational safety and health policies.