to this type of litigation. Current remedies entail only requests for monetary
damages for subsequent relief, which are insufficient to fully protect the
parties’ interests. What is more important is to initiate lawsuits prohibiting
specific acts to put an immediate stop to the continuation of obstruction. 72
The scope of application specified in Article 2, Paragraph 1,
Subparagraph 3 of the Labor Incident Act includes tort disputes arising
from labor relations such as violations of gender equality in the workplace,
employment discrimination, and occupational hazards. Moreover, Article
40 of the Labor Incident Act provides unions the right to litigate collective
and systemic disputes, allowing them to sue employers that harm the
interests of their members within the scope defined in their charter; they
may also request the elimination of the infringement under Article 44-3 of
the Code of Civil Procedure which governs actions for injunctive relief
prohibiting specific acts of a person who has violated the interests of the
majority concerned.
According to Article 34 of the Gender Equality in Employment Act,
even if an event involves collective or institutional discrimination, only
individual employees or applicants can file a complaint with the local
competent authorities. Labor unions cannot file complaints as concerned
parties. Given that workers are often economically disadvantaged in labor
relations, if employers infringe upon the interests of the majority of their
workers, individual workers who suffer harm are often unable to dispute
their employers and fight for their rights and interests on their own. The
law should be amended to allow labor unions to file complaints in their
own name, thereby preventing employers from continuing to implement
discriminatory regulations.
Article 2 of CEDAW requires states to immediately take all
appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women. It is
recommended that the government amend the Gender Equality in
Employment Act so that in gender discrimination incidents, labor unions
72
M.J., Hsu (July 2014). “Preliminary Introduction to Class Action—Focus on
Consumer Protection Class Action,” Law Journal, Vol. 235, p. 85.
92