Taiwan, US, Japan, Slovakia team up for GCTF event on post-pandemic future of work

2021/09/14

A Global Cooperation and Training Framework event on the future of work during a post-pandemic economic recovery wrapped up Sept. 10, underscoring the government’s commitment to advancing progress among like-minded partners on key labor issues.
 
Organized by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Labor, American Institute in Taiwan, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association and Slovak Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, the two-day virtual marked the first time for the EU member state to host a GCTF workshop.
 
The event involved around 110 labor affairs experts and officials from 27 countries. In addition, special addresses were delivered by MOFA Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu, MOL Minister Hsu Ming-chun, U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Labor Thea Lee, AIT Director Sandra Oudkirk, JTEA Representative Hiroyasu Izumi and SECOT Representative Martin Podstavek.
 
According to the MOFA, the workshop is the first staged under the auspices of the GCTF to focus on labor issues, especially the impact of artificial intelligence and how such technologies affect occupational health and safety.
 
Wu said no effort is being spared in bringing Taiwan’s working environment more in line with global standards. This is a vitally important consideration as safeguarding human rights is at the heart of the Constitution, he added.
 
At the same time, Wu said, the government is working with the EU, Indonesia, the Philippines and U.S. through regular dialogues, reciprocal visits and multilateral platforms like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to address pressing labor matters.
 
Echoing Wu’s remarks, Oudkirk said COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way the world does business, with emerging technologies such as AI enabling remote work to facilitate the touchless economy while posing challenges to labor conditions.
 
The U.S. will cooperate with partners, including Taiwan and Japan, on developing standards and norms to ensure technologies are deployed in an ethical way respecting human rights.
 
In a tweet on its official account, the MOFA said “Welcome aboard, #Slovakia! Great to have a fellow force for good join #Taiwan, the #US & #Japan in staging a #GCTF on the future of work in a post-#COVID19 economic recovery. It’s great to have our Ministry of Labor & @USDOL debut, too.”


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)