Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiang Yung-chang, during a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan last Tuesday, asked who would accept resonsibility should the Ministry of Labor fail to submit a draft minimum wage bill to the Executive Yuan before the end of the year. Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun replied that the responsibility would lie with her.
However, Premier William Lai said that the minimum wage bill is only one of several measures needed to resolve the problem of low salaries, and argued that developing the economy is to be more important for achieving salary increases.
During Chiang’s question, he referred to President Tsai Ing-wen’s political goal of enacting a minimum wage bill, but said that to date it has been a case of all talk and no action. Chiang went on to say that he has previously written to the ministry on this matter and received a reply stating the ministry hopes to complete a review of the bill by year end and have submitted it to the Executive Yuan by then.
Photo: CNA
照片:中央社
In her reply to the question, Hsu said her ministry has already convened meetings on the matter, collated information from many countries and held public hearings in the northern, central, southern and eastern regions of the country. She added that, despite differences of opinion between workers and employers, the ministry is continuing to work in accordance with its original plan.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an handed Lai a copy of the book Laborers and asked him for more details of amendments to the Labor Standards Act. Lai responded that Taiwan has already entered the era of the knowledge economy, and the existing act is a body of law formulated for the industrial age. Lai said that the next step is for the ministry to continue gathering opinions from across society and to carry out research, adding that there is no timetable for amending the act.
(Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones)
民進黨立委江永昌週二在立法院院會質詢指出,勞動部如果未於今年底前將「最低工資法草案」送到行政院,誰會負責?勞動部長許銘春答詢表示「我負責」。
行政院長賴清德則說,要解決低薪,「最低工資法」是配套之一,更重要的是發展經濟,薪資自然也會提高。
江永昌質詢時表示,蔡總統曾提出制定「最低工資法」政見,但至今「只聞樓梯響」。之前他行文勞動部,勞動部回應希望在今年度完成草案審查。
許銘春回應表示,勞動部已召開過相關會議,也蒐集各國資訊,在北、中、南、花、東辦過五場公聽會,目前勞資雙方意見仍有歧異,勞動部仍按照先前的規劃在進行中。
國民黨立委蔣萬安質詢時,贈送書籍《做工的人》給賴清德,並詢問「勞基法」再修法細節;賴清德表示,台灣已進入知識經濟時代,現行「勞基法」是工廠時代的法律,後續請勞動部持續蒐集社會各界意見進行研究,但沒有修法時間表。
(自由時報記者鄭鴻達)
Follow up
讀後練習
Reading comprehension
Minimum wage
Many governments around the world have enacted a minimum wage, but there is considerable debate over the effectiveness of such a measure. Economists and politicians in favor of a minimum wage argue that implementing a minimum wage or increasing an existing minimum wage helps low-income families and narrows the gap between rich and poor.
Those opposed a minimum wage argue that it pushes up labor costs which eats into companies’ profit margins, causes inflation — which results in higher prices of goods for consumers — and can ultimately lead to job losses as managers are forced to lay off workers in order to cut costs.
The knowledge economy
The knowledge economy refers to an economic system based on knowledge or “intellectual capital.” The economies of most developed countries have moved away from manufacturing-intensive and labor-intensive economy toward knowledge-based services which rely on so-called “human capital” — intellectual capability rather than natural resources or physical labor.
(Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: As well as Eid al-Fitr, Southeast Asia is celebrating the Water Festival this week. B: And this year, Thailand is expanding the celebration between April 12 and 16 for the event, officially known as the Songkran Festival, expecting to make 24.3 billion Thai baht in tourism revenue. A: Does Taiwan celebrate the Water Festival? B: Some local cities and counties do have similar activities. A: Let’s go experience the festival then. A: 除了「開齋節」外,東南亞「潑水節」本週也盛大登場! B: 泰國今年從4月12日到16日擴大「宋干節」連假,預估觀光收入可高達243億泰銖。 A: 台灣會慶祝「潑水節」嗎? B: 有些縣市會舉辦類似活動。 A: 那我們也去體驗一下吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)