The Taipei City Government Labor Inspection Office at the end of last year received several complaints from employees working for companies in the broadcast media, security and food and beverage sectors. Among them, one media company was allegedly deducting NT$100 from employee paychecks for every minute that they were late to work, or NT$6,000 for being an hour late. A private security company and other companies were forcing employees to bear the cost of the uniforms they were required to wear, deducting the cost from their wages. All of these actions violate the requirement in the Labor Standards Act that states wages must be paid in full. Those failing to do so can be fined between NT$200,000 and NT$300,000.
Department of Labor Chief Secretary Wu Meng-lin says that among the three companies that were investigated after receiving the complaints, it was found that the media company was using management as an excuse to dock workers’ wages for being late. According to the act, the amount being deducted for tardiness cannot exceed the calculated amount of an employee’s average hourly wages, Wu says, adding that deducting NT$6,000 for being an hour late is completely disproportionate.
The companies that created these unlawful requirements have been asked to amend them and the Taipei City Government Department of Labor will decide whether the names of the companies that broke the law will be made public.
photo: Chen Chih-chu, Liberty Times
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
台北市勞動檢查處去年底接獲廣播媒體業、保全業及餐飲業等員工申訴,其中竟有媒體業者規定員工遲到一分鐘扣一百元,等同遲到一小時要扣六千元;亦有保全公司等業者強迫員工穿制服,制服費卻從勞工薪資扣款,皆違反「勞動基準法」之工資未全額給付規定,可處新台幣二至三十萬元罰鍰。
勞檢處主秘吳夢麟表示,稽查三家遭申訴公司發現,有媒體業者以管理為由,訂定勞工遲到扣款規定,但勞工上班遲到扣薪,不得逾越換算後勞工應領的時薪,一小時扣六千元,完全不符比例原則。
對於事業單位所訂不合法的規定,已要求該公司改正,待台北市勞動局裁處後,才能決定是否公布違規企業名單。
(自由時報記者宋小海)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
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