The situation of employees forced to go on upaid leave would unlikely be as serious as it was in 2008 when the country was affected by global financial meltdown, Vice Premier Sean Chen said yesterday.
As of Friday, six businesses were sending their workers on unpaid leave, Chen told reporters.
“As things stand, I will say that the situation is not as serious as 2008,” he said.
According to government statistics, unpaid leave practices instituted in May 2008 as a result of sharp drops in consumer orders affected as many as 741,000 employees at the end of 2008 during the peak of the global financial crisis.
This came to an end in the middle of 2009, but recently re-emerged.
To closely monitor the furlough phenomenon, the Ministry of Economic Affairs was tasked to monitor factories located in industrial complexes, the National Science Council to watch companies at science parks and the Financial Supervisory Commission to report cases at listed corporations, Chen said.
“Employers are not allowed to act on their own discretion to adopt unpaid leave practices. Rather, they have to consult with employees in advance over any plans that would send employees on unpaid leave,” Chen said.
At a separate setting yesterday, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said the government was deliberating over a move that would prohibit companies that turn net profits from asking employees to take unpaid leave.
Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) and economic officials have been asked to be present at the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee tomorrow to brief lawmakers on the situation.
In a written report prepared by Wang, she said “employers have no legal discretion to decide on unpaid leave.”
Employers who unilaterally impose a reduction in salaries on their employees could be fined between NT$20,000 and NT$300,000 or have the names of their company publicized if the case is severe, Wang said.
In the event of an economic downturn where a company must endure difficult times without laying off a large number of workers, Wang said employers could send employees on unpaid leave when they suspend operations, slash production or suffer losses to a certain extent. However, she added, this could not be done without employees’ consent.
During periods of unpaid leave, monthly salaries may be reduced in proportion to the reduction in hours, but must not be lower than the minimum wage, while employers are required to still contribute the same amount of money to employees’ retirement funds when they are on unpaid leave, Wang said.
Additional reporting by Staff Writer
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