Legal protection of remote labor relations in the digital era: Perspective of the intersection of individual and collective labor law, gender equality and competition law

Principle Investigator：Yu-fan Chiu

While our society gradually moves into the post-epidemic era, it increasingly relies on the development of digital technology such as the internet, algorithms, cloud information technology, and big data. Teleworking, platform work, the gig work, and crowd work increasingly becomes “new types” of working mode. Labor force is outsourced through platforms or applications. Workers can use internet communication software to work remotely without geographical restrictions. By decentralization of the workplace, work become much more fragmented. While the digital teleworking relationship becomes the current increasing trend, the policies and legislation relating to the protection and regulation of this relationship in Taiwan are obviously inadequate. In this regard, this project aims to research the ways of protection of working conditions under digital control from the perspective of individual labor law and discuss respectively on the issues such as compensation, privacy, workplace monitoring, occupational safety and health protection, and gender equality in the workplaces. In terms of the collective labor rights of digital platform workers under the collective labor law, the study will examine the interlocking application of group consultation rights and competition laws, as well as the right of industrial actions. In addition, this project aims to specifically study the minimum working conditions of self-employed workers who are classified as real independent contractors. This project will conduct local empirical research to investigate the actual development of a digital teleworking relationship in Taiwan, with the comparative law study of the EU and EU countries (Germany, Spain, Italy, etc.) to connect with the accumulated research in Taiwan. We will review the adapting and adjusting direction of labor laws in Taiwan, to provide reference suggestions for future legislation and policies on the protection of digital teleworkers.