In an effort to force the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to answer to the needs of its employees, the party's union said yesterday that it is considering a mass strike on July 16 -- the day of the KMT's highly anticipated chairmanship election.
"We are sincere in our desire to talk to the party. However, we must defend our labor rights," Liu Chien-sung (
In a telephone interview with the Taipei Times, Liu said that the main reason for the proposed strike is concern that the party has not allocated any money from the controversial sale of its assets to its employee pension plans.
This is a major concern of the party's employees, Liu said, given that the KMT's top decision-making body, the Central Standing Committee, approved a proposal in early March to layoff around 1,100 of the 1,700 employees over the next two years.
"We have given our youth, our lives to the party. They cannot pass this career-destroying resolution and not do anything to take care of things," Liu said.
There are around 500 to 600 employees who are of retirement age, Liu said. If a typical pension plan can be valued at around NT$400,000, then the KMT must be prepared to pay at least NT$200 million in the near future for that group of employees.
However, the union has yet to see the party take any action to prepare such funds, Liu said.
"Everyone from KMT Secretary-General Lin Feng-chen (
He said the union is afraid that the party's current leadership will get away with doing nothing until the end.
"A strike is measure of last resort. But we cannot allow [KMT Chairman] Lien Chan (連戰) and the current leadership get away without resolving this issue." Liu said. " So we might strike on the day of the chairmanship election to prevent him [Lien]from running away."
Liu said the union will have an executive meeting on May 17 to decide whether or not to strike.
In response, KMT spokesman Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭) said yesterday that he did not believe that such a strike would have an impact on the chairmanship election.
"I think that the majority of the party's employees will not be affected by the strike, so that the chairmanship election will go on as scheduled," he said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS