The workers’ union of Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) yesterday escalated its strike over diminished benefits and compensation with the addition of 2,000 employees who are seeking what the company described as “one-sided and unreasonable” demands.
Since the strike began on Dec. 9, Nan Shan has strived to mend relations with the union, the company said, adding that it has met with union representatives 33 times since last year.
The insurer said the union is merely looking after its own interests under the guise of fighting injustice, adding that its policyholders would not be affected by the incident.
The union is demanding that the company retain 10 percent of its earnings for a profit-sharing program, for which only union members would be eligible, the firm said, adding that non-union employees would also be excluded from new labor terms that are being negotiated, including a reduced weighting for managers’ input in individual performance assessments.
The union is also demanding that the company seek its approval before drafting sales commission plans for policies, which the insurer said is unreasonable.
Sales commission and annual bonus programs must conform with legal requirements, which factor in variables including provisions and the type and level of risk associated with policies sold, Nan Shan said.
Sales commissions have been declining throughout the domestic insurance sector due to low interest rates, the company said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last