The battle between Minister of Transportation and Commun-ications Yeh Chu-lan (
People may have different views on who is right and who is wrong, but it should be pointed out that the CTWU is one of the few labor unions among state-run businesses that operates effectively.
In addition, most other unions in Taiwan are far behind the CTWU in size and strength.
People First Party Legislator Chin Huei-chu (
According to her investigation, labor unions operate in only 50 of the 98 major foreign companies in Taiwan. She further condemned these foreign companies for having an "imperialist" and "colonialist" attitude.
Ironically, if we closely examine statistics produced by Chin herself, we see that foreign corporations are actually model companies in Taiwan.
Local companies are way behind them in terms of union activity. Take Taiwan's leading industry, the high-tech manufacturing sector, for example. Surprisingly, none of the famous high-tech companies in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park have a labor union. Many of the workers there have been warned not to attempt to form a union, and have been threatened with immediate dismissal if they do so. Prospective employees are also asked to state their position on labor unions at interview in order that the bosses may take this into account when deciding whether to hire them.
Thus, politically well-connected heads of Taiwanese businesses with great public and even international images seem to adopt the same principle -- no labor unions.
What can a labor union do for its members? Quite frankly, most labor unions in Taiwan are just like capons: they have very limited functions.
Since Taiwan's labor unions are set up on a company-by-company or factory-by-factory basis rather than by whole professions or industries, union members' power and influence are usually weak compared to those of their bosses -- who possess great capital and control the company's resources.
Nevertheless, if the union can unite the majority of workers and cultivate an enduring spirit of solidarity and the cadre members are not directly appointed by management, it is still possible for a union to gain certain benefits and respect for its members.
Why are local companies so hostile toward labor unions?
It is much less due to their worries about possible labor uprisings than their unwillingness to share their rights with others. Many of Taiwan's managers have always believed that, "I can do whatever I want since the company is mine."
With such a patriarchy, of course workers who want to initiate labor unions are viewed as a challenge to their authority and as unwelcome troublemakers.
The capitalists who suppress labor unions are actually in our own back yard. Local business leaders should also be condemned when we accuse foreign companies for not supporting labor unions.
As for those who do not support labor unions, I believe they are the ones who keep the Labor-Capital Office of the Department of the Council of Labor Affairs (
Huang Jui-ming is an assistant professor at the Department of Labor Relations of National Chung Cheng University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry