Labor minister offers resignation over bullying suicide case

Taipei, Nov. 21 (CNA) Labor Minister Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) offered to resign on Wednesday evening over her handling of a civil servant's suicide earlier this month, but Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) did not make an immediate decision as to whether to accept her resignation.

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According to an Executive Yuan Spokesperson Lee Hui-chih (李慧芝), Cho intends to first consider the findings of an ongoing investigation into the death of the worker before discussing whether Ho should remain head of the Ministry of Labor (MOL).

"He Pei-shan's current tasks and [questions over] accountability within the department have not yet been completed," Lee said at a press conference Thursday, adding that she remains labor minister.

On Wednesday, the Legislative Yuan's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee announced it had asked the Control Yuan and the Disciplinary Court to separately look into the suicide of a 39-year-old civil servant, identified by his surname Wu (吳).

Wu's body was discovered inside the ministry's office at the Executive Yuan's Xinzhuang Joint Office Tower in New Taipei on Nov. 4, with speculation on social media that workplace bullying had driven him to take his own life.

Ho was grilled by lawmakers on Wednesday over the ministry's handling of the case. The labor minister said she accepted "responsibility" for the incident, but argued that "the civil service system has many challenges" that are "difficult to control."

At a press conference on Tuesday, Ho said that any alleged bullying by Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), then head of a regional office of the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), was "not the direct cause" of the civil servant's death, though a MOL report published later in the day recommended that Hsieh be evaluated in accordance with the Public Functionaries Merit Evaluation Act for "involvement in workplace bullying."

However, at the performance review held Wednesday afternoon, Hsieh received two major demerits, prompting the high-ranking civil servant's dismissal from office.

Hsieh issued a written public apology in which she admitted responsibility for "poor emotional control" and "excessive requests" that led to "significant stress" to colleagues.

Though denying that her "leadership style" had anything to do with Wu's death, Hsieh also apologized to Wu's family and others affected by her "not being able to provide timely support."

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Cho confirmed that the case has been transferred to the judiciary and said that "bullying must not be tolerated again."

In his remarks, the premier suggested that the investigation should be completed and responsibility be determined "within a week."