Most Taiwanese firms support plans to revise labor rules that have increased personnel overheads and made arranging shifts more difficult, a survey conducted by the online 1111 Job Bank (1111人力銀行) found yesterday.
Amending the “one fixed day off and one flexible rest day” regulation that requires overtime to be compensated with three times regular pay was supported by 65 percent of local firms.
“For most companies, the requirement has raised personnel expenses by 5.2 percent,” 1111 Job Bank vice president Daniel Lee (李大華) said.
Some firms hired more workers, while others greatly increased overtime pay to accommodate the rule, Lee said.
Service providers in particular have reported difficulty in arranging schedules, he said.
The findings came after Premier William Lai (賴清德) indicated his willingness to re-examine the controversial policy during the current legislative session.
Commercial and logistics firms have encountered the biggest problems, as they have to hire more part-time and outsourced workers to fill labor shortages on weekends and holidays, Lee said, adding that labor shortages are more evident during high sales seasons.
Firms said they wish the government would relax overtime rules by removing the 46-hour workweek cap and the requirement to have one fixed rest day every seven days, the survey said.
Many workers do not mind working for 12 consecutive days during high seasons and taking days off later, the job bank said.
Firms also want overtime compensation to be calculated in accordance with the actual amount of work, as opposed to the three-times-regular-pay requirement, Lee said.
The lack of flexibility has drawn criticism from domestic and foreign trade groups for the past nine months.
Separately, a majority of firms aim to raise staff levels next quarter on the expectation of a pickup in business, the survey found.
A total of 57 percent of local firms plan to recruit employees between next month and December, of which 54.4 percent are looking to fill vacancies, while 19.3 percent want to improve their business and another 18.8 percent are following routine policy, it said.
“Manufacturers and IT service providers demonstrate greater need for new staffers than firms in other sectors,” Lee said.
As the high sales season for consumer electronic devices approaches, firms are looking for new engineers and sales representatives, he said.
FIH Regent Group (FIH, 晶華國際酒店集團) — owner of the Regent, Silks Place and Just Sleep hotel brands — said that it expects banquet demand to increase in the fourth quarter and it is seeking new employees to help it expand domestically and abroad.
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