Officials defend workweek backslide

Facing strong protests from labor groups, government officials were busy yesterday defending the Executive Yuan's plan to revise the Labor Standards Law to impose a 44-hour workweek, in what would be a reversal of the legislature's decision to shorten the workweek to 84 hours in a two-week period.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) explained that the government has opted for the 44-hour workweek because it must take into consideration the possible impact on economic development while seeking to improve labor rights.

Chen stressed the importance of striking a balance between the two.

"Just like an airplane, it needs two balanced engines to fly effectively," Chen said.

Chen made the remark while receiving Father Neil Magill the Irish priest, who was deported from Taiwan in 1989 for promoting a labor rights movement.

But as Chen was apologizing to Magill for the "improper action" on behalf of the Taiwan government at yesterday's meeting, members of the Committee for Action for Labor Legislation (CALL, 工人立法行動委員會) were staging a demonstration outside the Presidential Office over the 44-hour workweek plan.

Representatives from the Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions (TCTU, 全國產業總工會) and the Taiwan Labor Front (台灣勞工陣線), meanwhile, were visiting the DPP caucus in the legislature, to voice their dissatisfaction with the DPP government's plan to impose a 44-hour workweek.

On June 16, the legislature revised the Labor Standards Law to shorten the maximum working time to 84 hours in a two-week period -- from the current 48 hours per week, in what was considered a big boost for laborers. The measure was set to take effect Jan. 1.

The revision, according to analysts, had been proposed by the KMT, which controls the majority of legislative seats, in an attempt to outshine the DPP-led government's original plan to shorten the workweek to 44 hours. It was Chen's campaign promise to implement a 44-hour workweek in 2001 and further shorten it to 40 hours in 2002.

The Executive Yuan decided on Wednesday to submit another bill to the legislature to adjust the workweek to 44 hours, to moderate the burden of workweek changes on traditional industries.

Yesterday, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) explained that the Executive Yuan had not requested the legislature reconsider the 84-hours bill in June because it needed to "show respect for the legislature."

"Over this period, however, we have seen the unemployment rate climbing. If industries cannot sustain themselves and workers begin to lose their jobs, this will be against our goal of protecting laborers' rights," Chang said.

Chen Chu (陳菊), chairwoman of the Council of Labor Affairs, said the 44-hour workweek policy is consistent with the DPP's goal of taking care of laborers, and there was also a consensus between labor and industrial representatives on this policy before the legislature passed its version of the workweek-change plan.

"We hope to implement the policy moderately in several stages," Chen said.

Chen said she will not hesitate to step down if she fails workers.

Unconvinced by the official explanations, CALL Secretary-General Wuo Young-Ie (吳永毅) criticized the government as being "irresponsible" during yesterday's demonstration.

Wuo said the Executive Yuan should have requested the legislature to reconsider the bill as soon as it was adopted if it had difficulties implementing it.