Enterprise integrity is a stable force driving economic development, and is also a key to the improvement of industrial and national competitiveness. On October 5, 2022, the Ministry of Labor held the “2022 Enterprise Integrity Forum” inviting the Ministry of Justice to participate. The aim was to implement the emphasis of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) on combating corruption in the private sector, creating opportunities for coordination between the public sector and the private sector, and build a partnership against corruption.

The forum kicked off with speeches addressed by Minister Tsai Ching-hsiang of the Ministry of Justice, Minister Hsu Ming-chun of the Ministry of Labor, and Representative Jenny Bloomfield of the Australian Office. This was followed by keynote speeches delivered by Lai Chia-yi, Managing Director of NEC Taiwan Ltd., Tim TREGENZA, Senior Manager of International Operations of European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), and Dianah Brown, Deputy Director of Occupational Safety and Health Framework and Labour Benefits Policy of Safe Work Australia covered topics such as “Enterprise Integrity and Occupational Safety Practices.”

The forum was divided into two sessions. The first session was presided over by Shen Feng-liang, Deputy Director-General of the Agency Against Corruption of the Ministry of Justice, Hsu Shu-po, Chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of China, Yeh Yi-chang, Vice President of Transparency International Taiwan, and Wang Hou-wei, Director General of the Ministry of Labor. They exchanged views on issues such as the “Establishment of Integrity Culture with Joint Efforts between Employers and Employees and Enterprise Integrity Management” and “International Trends and Prospects of Enterprise Integrity Governance.”The second session was presided over by Ho Chun-chieh, CEO of the Occupational Disaster Prevention and Rehabilitation Center, with exchanges amongst enterprise representatives on topics such as “Implementing Enterprise Governance and Three Areas of Safety in Work through ESG Concept” and “How to Enhance Occupational Safety and Health with IT Technology.”

According to Minister Tsai Ching-hsiang of the Ministry of Justice, although Taiwan is not a member state of the United Nations, it still follows the contents of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) by promoting the joint efforts between the private sector and the public sector to fight against corruption and strive to promote and deepen forum activities on Enterprise integrity and compliance with laws and regulations. In the relevant international evaluation of clean governments, Taiwan has achieved the best result in recent years. This year, the Ministry of Justice further requested the Agency Against Corruption to integrate the spirit of openness and transparency with past experience operating the “Government Procurement Integrity Platform,” and combines the promotion of the trial version of the “Integrity Platform for Enterprise Services” by various competent authorities to provide distinctive consultations on the issue of “difference between unlawful profit seeking and convenience for the public” which are significant concerns for enterprises. The aim is to communicate and joint resolution of programs between both parties. Meanwhile, the Agency Against Corruption assists enterprises in strengthening integrity and legal compliance to achieve the goals of streamlining administration processes and providing convenience for the public, to further create a clean and competent investment environment which is more transparent, efficient and reassuring.

Hsu Ming-chun, Minister of the Ministry of Labor, said that “business integrity management” must be supported by the majority of workers. The main policy concept of the Ministry of Labor is to strengthen the three areas of safety in workplace, that is, to create a labor environment for “safe work,” “reassuring workplace” and “safe labor.” This requires increased participation from both enterprises and workers, so that enterprises can benefit from a better labor force while the workers can have better working conditions and quality of life.

To draw on the latest domestic and international experiences, official and enterprise representatives from Taiwan, EU and Australia were invited to the forum, who delivered keynote speeches to share practical experiences in the combination of Enterprise integrity, occupational safety and health management. Experts from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labor, as well as industry, academia, etc. were also invited to participate in the forum activities to build consensus. The public sector and the private sector work together to jointly reinforce the “three safety areas in workplace” and promote “Enterprise integrity,” achieving the goal of sustainable business.