A panel group under the Economic Development Advisory Conference has decided that a proposal to move to an hourly wage system is simply to hot to handle.
The proposal, called "no work, no pay," would have meant a huge reduction in pay for the nation's workers.
Labor groups were opposed to the measure because workers wouldn't receive compensation for their days off, as they do under the present system.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
In addition, the labor panel said the minimum wage of NT$15,840 for both foreign and local workers should be kept. There were proposals earlier to do away with the wage guarantee.
"It's very difficult for one to survive on the current monthly minimum wage of NT$15,840," said Lin Hui-kwung (林惠官), president of the Chinese Federation of Labor and a participant on the employment panel. "Some workers have to support families on these wages."
Pai Cheng-sheng (
"Besides, if workers lack purchasing power, how can economic development be ensured?" Pai said.
Still, while the panel has taken a hands-off approach to the minimum wage for now, the group said it would urge the Council of Labor Affairs to consider adjusting it in the future.
But no specific proposal as to how the wage should changed was put forth.
For foreign workers, the panel put its weight behind a Council of Labor Affairs proposal to deduct food and rent allowances from their paychecks.
Chen Chu (
The government hopes to implement the plan in September, when NT$2,500 per month will be deducted from workers' paychecks, an amount that will eventually rise to NT$5,000.
By far the issue that had caused the biggest brouhaha yesterday was the proposal to move to an hourly pay system.
In January, a revised version of the Labor Standards Law was implemented, reducing working hours from 48 per week to 84 hours per fortnight.
Because workers are paid for their days off, the change meant that employees were getting an additional six paid hours off per week -- in effect a back-door pay raise.
To avoid giving workers more time off for the same amount of pay, some companies proposed moving to the hourly system.
Chen yesterday said she supported the idea, saying that it was an international trend.
But she later denied, however, that the council supported the shift after her comments angered labor movement officials.
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
RSS