Thousands of people yesterday took to the streets of Taipei to mark Workers’ Day, demanding that the government protect workers’ rights, while criticizing the incoming Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration’s plans to continue labor policies that the protesters said have worsened working conditions.
The “Fight for Workers’ Rights and Protection” march was joined by an estimated 15,000 protesters, organizers said, starting in front of DPP headquarters and moving to the Legislative Yuan and Ketagalan Boulevard.
Marchers set off firecrackers in front of the Presidential Office Building in a symbolic gesture to “declare war” on the government, saying there would be no honeymoon period for the new Cabinet, calling on it to immediately address labor issues that they said were born of pro-business policies.
Photo: Huang Pang-ping, Taipei Times
Unions issued nine demands: reduced working hours and designated national holidays for workers; no reduction of pensions; an end to atypical employment; a minimum-wage increase; protection of workers’ rights to set up unions, negotiate with employers and organize strikes; address understaffing and overwork issues; an improved public long-term care system; prohibition of mergers between private and public banks to protect public assets; and nationalized education.
“We are at the DPP headquarters today because [president-elect] Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policies regarding workers’ rights and social welfare are obscure, and her policies could be a continuance of current rules, which have led to loose labor practices,” Hsinchu Confederation of Trade Unions director Chan Su-chen (詹素貞) said.
“Demands put forward by workers’ unions have been consistent over the past 10 years, because administrations, including those of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), as well as Tsai’s incoming team, have been or will be attempting to enact contract employment regulations, which would only legalize and increase atypical employment and poverty,” Tainan Confederation of Trade Unions secretary-general Huang Yu-te (黃育德) said.
Photo: Huang Pang-ping, Taipei Times
“The government should investigate contract worker rates and the need for contract employment in a businesses, while the government should phase out contract employment and help contract workers become regular employees,” Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions director-general Chuang Chueh-an (莊爵安) said.
Chuang said Tsai pledged to establish a minimum-wage law while on the campaign trail, but the former DPP administration only raised the minimum wage once in Chen’s eight-year presidency.
Tsai should immediately increase the minimum wage when she takes office, instead of delaying the move with a prolonged legislation process, Chuang said.
Tsai promised to visit people from all walks of life if she won, but she never visited workers’ groups, Chuang said, urging Tsai to do so and put a stop to the Ministry of Labor’s plan to reduce the number of national holidays by seven.
“All pension reform proposals put forward by different administrations have aimed to extend the retirement age and ask workers to pay more but receive less in pensions, which we do not accept because the so-called reforms are made at the expense of workers. The government should tax large businesses to fund pensions,” he said.
There are 800,000 people with chronic illness or disability who need long-term care, but only about 10 percent of them are covered by the government system, while 90 percent are taken care of by their families or migrant workers, which amounts to the government shifting social responsibility to the public, the groups said.
Tsai’s policy to expand public long-term care is to be financed by tax revenue, but the proposed budget, NT$40 billion (US$1.24 billion), is barely enough, while the DPP has failed to clarify key issues, including where to recruit carers and how to improve their working conditions, the groups said.
Seperately, Tsai posted a photograph on Facebook reiterating her labor policies, which include raising wages; reducing working hours; protecting atypical workers; supporting employment of young, middle-aged and elderly people; giving special care to people involved in workplace accidents; and encouraging unions.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
RSS