applicants can file a complaint. The Taoyuan City Government explained
that the Gender Equality in Employment Act endows specific rights and
requires factual circumstances, and that unions, when detecting illegal
activity, can only act as whistleblowers, not complainants. The Ministry of
Labor stated that the law prohibits employers from discriminating against
applicants or employees in recruitment and other aspects on the basis of
gender or sexual orientation, and that complaints must contain specific
facts detailing violations of the law. Local governments receiving
complaints must conduct interviews and investigations. Because unions are
not the parties directly involved in case, they cannot present the case facts
that complainants can. Thus, individual complainants are still required.
However, the Act for the Settlement of Labor-Management Disputes
states that unions can act as complainants to engage in litigation, mediation,
arbitration, or rulings. Article 40 of the Labor Incident Act provides unions
the right to litigate in collective and systemic disputes, allowing them to
sue employers that harm the interests of their members within the scope
defined in their charters.
Unfortunately, this case is governed by the gender discrimination
relief and complaint procedures stipulated in the Gender Equality in
Employment Act, which states that even if the discrimination is collective
and systemic, only employees or applicants can file complaints with the
local competent authorities as per Article 34; unions can only serve as
whistleblowers. The complaints are then reviewed by the Gender Equality
Working Committee before an official letter is issued.
e. The government has not formulated guidelines to help
employers and employees understand human rights and avoid
discrimination, making it difficult to realize women’s equal
rights
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