The labor law amendments could improve working conditions, with only limited impact on consumer prices, the Cabinet said yesterday, rebutting what business leaders said were the side effects of the “lose-lose legislation.”
Defending amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), which stipulates a five-day workweek and higher overtime pay, the Executive Yuan said the legislation is a major improvement in general working conditions, while the impact on businesses is acceptable to labor-intensive industries.
Chinese National Federation of Industries secretary-general Tsai Lien-sheng (蔡練生) on Tuesday said the amendments were a “lose-lose” legislation that hurt employers, workers and consumers with increased personnel costs, lower salaries due to fewer working hours and rising consumer prices.
Photo: CNA
“That employers quibble with employees [over overtime pay] is what makes it a lose-lose situation,” Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) said, calling on businesses to take care of their employees.
Two major goals of the amendments — to reduce working hours and unify the nation’s leave schemes — have been achieved, although there are side effects, such as a rise in operating costs for labor-intensive businesses.
The legislation hardly affects companies that have already adopted a five-day workweek, which accounts for about 65 percent of the workforce, Lin said.
. Photo: Tsai Wen-chu, Taipei Times
For employers of the other 35 percent of workers, they are likely to see a tolerable increase in personnel costs.
“The public has misunderstood the legislation and believed that businesses would have to pay considerably more in overtime pay, but that is not the case,” Lin said.
The amendments would increase the personnel and operational costs of the manufacturing industry by 1.5 percent and 0.1 percent respectively, National Development Council Deputy Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said.
As for the service industry, a labor-intensive industry that is more susceptible to the new overtime pay requirements, personnel and operational costs would only increase by 2.1 percent and 0.22 percent respectively, Kung added.
The nation will experience “very mild inflation,” with this year’s inflation estimated at 1.26 percent to 1.46 percent, which is “fairly acceptable,” central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) said, adding that the central bank would not activate regulatory measures until inflation reaches 2 percent.
The consumer price index is estimated to rise by between 0.2 percent to 0.4 percent this year with the implementation of the legislation and the nation is likely to see a low and stable rise in consumer prices, Perng added.
The Fair Trade Commission is to monitor whether businesses are making coordinated price adjustments to manipulate the market. No such activity has been evident in restaurant prices, it said.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
RSS