Regulations on bus companies are to be relaxed during holidays, provided that it would facilitate convenience for the public, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
The definitive version of the rules is to be announced before the Lunar New Year holiday after 10 days of public commentary, it added.
The ministry is looking to relax the “one fixed day off and one flexible rest day” policy added to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) in 2016.
Photo: Li Ya-wen, Taipei Times
The ministry said that it was acting on recommendations from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications that bus company employees should work no more than nine days during the common off-day adjustment period.
No driver should work more than 12 hours during periods when the standards are relaxed, nor should they work 11-hour days for four consecutive days, the Ministry of Labor said.
Labor groups have voiced differing opinions.
Northern Taiwan Federation of Bus Company Unions director-general Kao Ling-kuo (高令國) said that the Ministry of Labor should only relax the regulations during the Lunar New Year holiday, as the rule change should only apply to government-ordained, consecutive holidays.
Due to the current rules, bus companies cannot arrange their drivers’ schedules to aid with additional transportation over the Lunar New Year holiday, Kao said.
This is not a normal state of affairs and the government should offer a certain degree of flexibility if it is to relax the regulations, he added.
While the measures still do not meet expectations, it is evident that the ministry is more aware of the issue than it was in March last year, when the amendments were promulgated, Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions secretary-general Tai Kuo-jung (戴國榮) said.
It would be better if the government could limit daily work time to less than 10 hours, Tai said.
Taiwan Motor Transport Co Union director Fan Kuang-ming (范光明) said that the rules would expose bus drivers to greater risk during the Lunar New Year holiday and that the union plans to accuse Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) of dereliction of duty next week.
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