President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that the government would work to strike a balance between the interests of workers and industry, and find a win-win solution for both sides.
At a meeting with business leaders, Tsai said that while the administration would not leave enterprises to face the pressures of transformation alone, it would be certain to ensure workers’ rights.
She made the comment in response to the ongoing dispute concerning workers’ hours while meeting 55 of the Chinese National Federation of Industries board directors and supervisors, including chairman Hsu Sheng-hsiung (許勝雄) and vice chairman Leslie Koo (辜成允).
Photo: CNA
Tsai said that when she met representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises several weeks ago, she told them that industries in Taiwan have to speed up their transformation so that their profits can increase, more jobs can be created and salaries can be raised.
Tsai said that she understands that enterprises have to race against time to complete orders, while workers care more about salary levels and rest breaks.
“As the head of state, my job is not to curry favor with anybody. My responsibility is to decide on a direction of development for the nation and to ensure that everyone is on the development train,” Tsai said, adding that workers and businesses should move toward the goal together.
The nation’s most important goal is modification of the economic structure, she said, adding that the government would improve the investment environment and take measures to help companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises — which account for 98 percent of Taiwan’s total businesses — to transform themselves, while ensuring workers’ rights.
“The government has the responsibility to pull workers back from the brink of low pay and overwork,” she said, adding that the government would ensure all workers’ rights to receive paid holidays and overtime pay, and impose restrictions on work hours through robust enforcement of labor laws.
Tsai also said businesses should think about how to generate benefits and improve employees’ working conditions.
She also mentioned the dispute over a draft amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), saying that the proposal is aimed at ensuring workers’ right to a maximum of two paid days off per week, but has sparked heated debate among employees and employers.
The Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan should do their utmost to explain the issue to those concerned and allow them to express their views in order to reach a consensus on the matter, she said.
The government would also tackle a dispute regarding whether to cut the number of officially designated holidays per year from 19 to 12, as part of its plans to implement a two days off, 40-hour work week system, Tsai said.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
RSS