Editorial: An honest week's work

Just when the bottom of the barrel of cheap political cynicism seemed thoroughly scoured by the opposition parties, they found a new low. Take the current controversy over the length of the workweek. To curry favor with workers, the opposition amended the Executive Yuan's original 44-hour workweek plan and made it 42 hours. But KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰), acting on behalf of the KMT's industrialist cronies, this week suggested to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) that the government go back to 44 hours because, given the current less-than-encouraging economic prospects, a shorter workweek is bound to put further pressure on industry.

So now the Executive Yuan is to return to its initial policy. It is doing so to please the KMT; yet it is the KMT which is responsible for what it now desires not being implemented in the first place. While Council of Labor Affairs chairperson Chen Chu (陳菊), who did not participate in the policy-making process, has to play the role of the bad guy who snatches the candy away from a kid, the opposition now has the temerity to demand, in return for its support in passing a measure it has requested, a whole range of other compromises -- for example the revival of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) project. This is politics at its most unprincipled.

Taiwan's industrial base is changing as traditional industries die out and the high-tech sector becomes its core. Because the traditional industries have to rely on labor to expand production value, shrinking work hours will cost them their competitive edge. The high-tech industries, however, do not need to rely on labor because they can increase productivity through technological and management readjustments.

The problem is that almost all of Taiwan's industrial leaders come from the traditional sectors. And these same industrialists have also long been a driving force in the KMT. Their lobbying has turned the idea that "labor equals productivity" into a government mantra. As a result, the possibility that shorter work hours could stimulate industrial productivity, phase out uncompetitive industries, speed up the development of entertainment and recreation industries and boost consumption has been ignored.

Workers will, of course, vilify the government for retracting the shorter workweek, blame the opposition though it might. More importantly, for the Executive Yuan to propose an amendment without coordinating with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Council of Labor Affairs is hardly a role model for decision-making.

Meanwhile, the opposition parties are demanding that Chen admit that his campaign promise to implement a 40-hour workweek by 2002 was a mistake and apologize for it. Rubbish! Chen wasn't the only one floating such an election balloon -- both Lien and James Soong (宋楚瑜) made similar promises. The opposition thinks they can justify their stoning of Chen simply because he was unlucky enough to win and now must try to turn his promises into reality.

Criticism of Chen's lack of a complete policy package, however, is worth noting. If Chen does not want to forgo his 40-hours-by-2002 promise, he should reiterate it and work to prepare Taiwan's society for the coming change. If he thinks the promise cannot be realized, then he should tell the industry leaders just that.