Premier Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday warned local governments against noncompliance with the five-day workweek legislation, after Nantou County Commissioner Lin Ming-chen (林明溱) told the Nantou County Government to assess the legal feasibility of not enforcing the law.
According to local media reports, Lin Ming-chen told the county government’s legal staff to assess the possibility of not enforcing the latest amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), which stipulates a five-day workweek with “one fixed day off and one flexible rest day.”
Lin Ming-chen said he made the move, the first at a local government level seeking to circumvent the policy, because the leave requirements have taken a toll on the county’s tourism industry — particularly hotel and amusement park operators — in which flexible work hours were a common practice.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
At a legislative plenary session, Lin Chuan said the amendment is a law with nationwide effect, compliance of which local governments are required to enforce.
“We will deal with any noncompliance. On principle, [local] governments should not take the lead in violating the law and if there are any violations we will ascertain the legal consequences,” the premier said.
If a local government is “negligent in enforcing the amendment, the Control Yuan and the Executive Yuan would step in,” he added.
As the five-day workweek policy might fail to address workplace flexibility, the Cabinet is gauging its effects and the possibility of issuing administrative orders to allow for a certain degree of flexibility without altering the policy, Lin Chuan said.
Compared with a five-day workweek with two mandatory days off, the new legislation already allows for some flexibility in working hours, he added.
“The main purposes of the amendment was to ensure labor rights and prevent people from being overworked. We will fully communicate with employers and law enforcement agencies if they are confused by the new policy,” the premier said.
Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) called on the government to suspend the enforcement of the amendment for five years, saying businesses cannot afford the increased personnel costs.
“The government should consider suspending enforcement for five years until the economy has the ability to support the amendment,” Fu said.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said the Taipei City Government supports President Tsai Ing-wen’s ( 蔡英文) reforms of working conditions, but added that there have been difficulties in enforcing the amendment.
The city government has asked the central government six times to explain the applicability of the amendment to certain workplace practices, but has not been given definitive answers, Ko said.
New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) also called on the central government to make adjustments to the amendment and unify enforcement criteria at the local government level, citing New Taipei City residents’ complaints about difficulties complying with the policy.
To mitigate the effects of the amendment, the central government has designated the first and second quarters of this year as a grace period for businesses to make adjustments, the Executive Yuan said, adding that formal labor inspections would be launched in the third quarter to ensure compliance.
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