萬國法律事務所

To deal with the problem of over-worked doctors, Mr. Lin Zoyan (林奏延), who will soon assume the position of Director of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, has announced that the Labor Standards Law will apply to intern doctors and resident doctors such that their working hours per week shall not exceed eighty-eight (88) hours in 2020. However, Associations for Doctors and Medicare criticized this announcement, complaining that the content differs from the promise made by President-elect Tsai Ing-Wen (蔡英文).

Further, patients worry that if there are no coordinated measures to address the issue of over-worked doctors and application of the Labor Standards Law , doctors may leave hospitals when their working hours per week have reached eighty-eight (88) hours, even while patients are still waiting for their treatment. An official at the Ministry of Labor responded that they have worked diligently to achieve the goal of having the Labor Standards Law apply to all employees in order to protect their rights. An official at the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that as hospital manpower is insufficient, more time is needed for them to discuss this issue with the Ministry of Labor to work out coordinated measures to resolve the lack of manpower issue if the Labor Standards Law does apply to doctors in the future.