The first anniversary of the establishment of COAPRE, under the Ministry of Labor, was celebrated with the "2023 The 3 Cs of Occupational Safety Carnival" held on August 5 at The Pier-2 Art Center in Kaohsiung. The event was organized specifically for close to 300 occupational accident workers and their families. There were also over 60 booths and food trucks providing diverse delicacies. Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-Chun expressed full support for workers, admiring the courage of injured workers in overcoming adversity. He also hoped that more people would learn to respect the lives and health of workers amid the festive ambiance and strive towards the goal of “zero occupational accidents” together.
 

At the event, injured workers and their families were invited to share their experiences. Chen Chin-Tai, an injured worker, urged the government to provide more assistance to workers. He emphasized that while occupational accidents cause immediate harm, getting recognized for occupational injuries is an arduous process. Besides submitting a ton of paperwork, occupational accident workers are often accused of fraudulent claims. "I didn’t even know how occupational accident workers can run a scam," he protested. Throughout the event, his wife, Lung Tan-Li, held his hands tightly. She shared that during her husband's injury, he would often blame himself for failing as the breadwinner in the family. The road to recovery is a long one, but she pledged to offer him the greatest trust and support every day. "He is my better half," she expressed, "and I hope COAPRE can be our “greatest support” as well!"
 

COAPRE will become the most dependable support for occupational accident families

For occupational accident workers and their families, occupational accidents often come unexpectedly, like a sudden storm catching them unprepared. In addition to derailing the lives of occupational accident workers, their families are also faced with financial, psychological, and caregiving crises. Prof. Kuo Yu-Liang from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at National Taiwan University Hospital mentioned in his speech at the Taipei event that according to surveys, occupational accident workers are 2.4 times more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 1.8 times more likely to develop depression compared to the general population. To this end, the Ministry of Labor founded the Center for Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation (hereinafter referred to as the center) last year to support occupational accident workers and hope to become the most dependable support for occupational accident families.
 

As the center celebrates its first anniversary, following the inaugural promotional carnival for the care of occupational accident workers and their families in Taipei in June, the second carnival was organized in Kaohsiung. Various occupational accident prevention and labor health services-related government departments have been invited to set up booths and organize a variety of games. Through hands-on experiences and presentations, more people were made aware of the concept of occupational safety and health, as well as the values and risks of work. This event aimed to improve corporate social responsibility for occupational safety, bolster preventive measures, and minimize the risk of occupational accidents.
 

Minister of Labor and Chairman of COAPRE, Hsu Ming-Chun attended the event with Chou Teng-Chun, Director of the Labor Affairs Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government, Su Chen-Kang, Director of the Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau, Kuo Chao-Hung, Director of Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital, and Prof. Ho Chi-Kung from the Department of Public Health at Kaohsiung Medical University, as well as representatives of occupational accident workers. Together, they lit the "Commitment" lamp to kick off the event, pledging to "implement" occupational safety, reinforce awareness of "safety", "care for" and "protect" occupational accident workers, and "collaborate" to create a "happy" workplace.
 

Hsu Ming-Chun: Hope to shorten the timeframe for identifying occupational disease cases

Hsu Ming-Chun stated that the primary concern for occupational accident workers after an accident is medical treatment and subsequent care. The Ministry of Labor has already established 15 specialized occupational injury and disease treatment and diagnosis hospitals and 88 network hospitals nationwide. Among the 5 new specialized hospitals this year, 2 are from Kaohsiung: the Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital and the Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital. In addition, the Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, which has been providing occupational injury and disease treatment and diagnosis services for over a decade, is also included. Representatives from the 3 hospitals, including case managers and physicians, were present today to disseminate occupational injury and disease treatment and diagnosis-related information. The center hopes to continue developing integrated occupational injury and disease treatment and diagnosis services by forming a nationwide medical network. Furthermore, the center aims to shorten the timeframe for identifying occupational disease cases to reduce the wait time for workers. The objective is to help occupational accident workers get through difficult times.
 

There were 35 booths and 28 food trucks at the event. Participants could exchange checkpoint cards for food by completing a wide range of simple and fun activities. Many workers and their families joined in the festivities. The booths included an "Occupational VR Experience", which led participants into a virtual work site with scaffoldings. Through this immersive experience, people could appreciate the importance of safety equipment in high-altitude work environments. Another activity, "Light Up the Night – Timed gear-up", allowed participants to experience the weight of high-altitude work equipment. There were also different workplace experience activities such as "Claw Machine Fun" and "I Am Hercules".
 

"Don’t panic about occupational accidents. We will be with you!" For occupational accident families, the glossiness of the tragedy will linger on for some time, but we can offer one another companionship and friendship along the way.