A mass layoff protection bill, designed to prevent sudden mass layoffs and oblige employers to negotiate with laid-off staff, was introduced to the legislature's Sanitation, Environment and Social Welfare Committee yesterday.
The committee did not complete its first reading of the bill, but legislators from all parties vowed to ensure its passage through the Legislative Yuan in this legislative session.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The draft was introduced by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) during a period in which unemployment is more than 5 percent and increasing numbers of workers are losing their jobs as a result of their companies closing or restructuring.
"We hope the act's passage will decrease the frequency of labor disputes," the CLA's chairwoman, Chen Chu (
The bill will affect some 2.26 million workers in companies employing more than 30 people.
It defines a mass layoff as when a company with between 30 and 500 employees lays off one-third of its employees within a 60 day-period, or when a company with more than 500 employees lays off one-fifth of its employees.
Companies wishing to conduct a mass layoff will have to submit a plan to the CLA and local government labor affairs departments 50 days in advance. Companies that fail to submit a proposal will be fined between NT$100,000 to NT$500,000.
The proposal has to list the dates and reasons for the layoffs, which departments of the company they involve and the number of dismissed employees.
The local labor department will mediate between employees and the employer. Employers who refuse to negotiate will be fined.
The bill states, without further definition, that "those in charge" of companies will be prevented from leaving the country if the company: has between 30 and 100 employees and owes more than NT$5 million in unpaid salaries and compensation; has between 100 to 200 employees and owes more than NT$10 million; has more than 200 employees and owes more than NT$20 million.
From January to October this year, about 250,000 people, almost half of the 520,000 people now unemployed, lost their jobs because of their company's closure or restructuring. More than 2,000 workers are involved in disputes as a result of being laid off.
The Labor Rights Association (勞動人權協會), however, yesterday argued that the newly introduced act would not protect workers.
The association worries that employers who are prohibited from departing might leave Taiwan before the government has completed its administrative processes.
"The government should strictly limit employers' rights to lay off staff, instead of introducing proposals like this," the association's press release said.
The legislature's committee will schedule a further review of the law in coming weeks.
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