Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang bangs the gavel after legislators passed amendments to the Seafarers Act at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. The Seafarers Act should therefore treat piracy as equivalent to war, especially after 2013 amendments to the Shipping Act (航業法) and the Fisheries Act (漁業法) that mandated owners to adopt anti-piracy security measures, it added. The amendments make the owners of vessels liable for deaths, injuries or harm suffered by the crew due to warfare or piracy. Article 43 has been amended so that the board must consist of one to three standing members among its total membership of seven to 15 experts in labor law. The standing members would increase the board’s efficiency and professionalism, as well as protecting workers’ right to organize and join a union, and to bargain collectively, the bill says.

Source: Taipei Times April 13, 2021 15:56 UTC