The Institute of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Labor Organizational Act was promulgated by the President on January 29, 2014, and the Institute of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health (hereafter referred to as ILOSH) was officially inaugurated on February 17, 2014. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by the Minister of Labor Pan Shih-Wei, who also officially sworn in Chairperson Lin San-Gui. Former chairpersons from the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and retirees were also present to attend the solemn and dignified ceremony.

Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has a history of 21 years, in addition to existing safety and health research, Division of Labor Market and Division of Labor Relations have been augmented to the current organizational structure and personnel establishment to incorporate relevant labor-related researches. The organization was renamed The Institute of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health (hereafter referred to as ILOSH) to act as the think tank for the Ministry of Labor.

The problem of occupational health and safety is dynamic and diversified and often change with time and environment. At present, major international agendas include the development of occupational safety and health management system, energy shortage problem and increased cross-strait interactions etc. These will generate drastic transformations in our national society and economy (including industry structure and labor etc.). In the future, these issues are expected to inflict further impact on occupational health and safety. Looking ahead, besides further advancing health and safety research, in resonance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that everyone has the right to physical and mental health, and the ILO Convention No.187, which states that a country should be dedicated to reducing occupational accidents and establish a preventive national culture, the Division of Labor Market and Division of Labor Relations have been augmented to actively research labor policy related issues. In particular, Division of Labor Market mainly studies the labor market, human resources and occupational safety, while the Division of Labor Relations is primarily engaged in the research of labor relations, labor standards and labor benefits etc.

In addition, in order to make labor research more valuable and practical, ILOSH must work closely with academia, capital and labor organizations and related professional associations (societies) to play the role of a platform for fostering inter-labor, capital, academia and government collaborations. Particularly, the medium range strategic planning direction of labor research can be divided into two major aspects, which are “priority research programs supported by government policy” and “forward-looking trend common research dimension”. The current objective is to protect labor rights and enhance labor benefits, cultivate industry labor capital, accelerate the optimization of industry structure, ensure the soundness of the occupational safety system and friendly work environment as well as increase women’s labor force participation rate etc. Looking ahead, more employment opportunities will be generated through the three major directions of “Independence, Fairness and Development” to pursue sustainable social development and increase our national competitiveness, so that laborers will also enjoy equal opportunity, human-based work environments and occupational safety, in turn creating labor dignity.