The Council of Labor Affairs' (CLA, 3狻e會) "jobs for relief" policy came under attack again yesterday as it tightened eligibility requirements for subsidy checks after loosening them only last week.
To receive a second subsidy check, unemployed claimants will actually have to work, and will be paid on a daily instead of a monthly basis.
The labor council announced at the beginning of the month that it would draw NT$1 billion from its Employment Security Fund (就業|w定基金) to provide subsidies for those left jobless after the 921 earthquake.
The policy did not initially require applicants to work, and attracted a flood of applicants from central Taiwan who could receive the payment while repairing their damaged homes. So far, more than 30,000 have qualified for the payments.
In an abrupt about-face, however, Lin Tsong-ming (林聰明), director of the CLA's Employment and Vocational Training Administration (職訓局), announced yesterday that the conditions for receiving the payment had been changed and will affect those claiming the next subsidy check.
The program will now require applicants to work for their township governments if they wish to claim payment.
In order to receive the first check for NT$13,200 -- to be distributed on Saturday -- applicants have to have been employed by local governments for at least three days.
The next check will be calculated on the basis of the number of work days the claimant has spent on reconstruction work with their local government. Claimants will be paid NT$542 per day instead of NT$15,840 per month, Lin said.
This change, Lin said, comes in response to local government complaints that the "jobs for relief" program was little more than an alternative form of consolation payment.
"This is to make sure [claimants] are helping with clean-up and reconstruction work in their neighborhoods," said Lin.
"There are plenty of jobs to be done for the reconstruction of local communities, including supply distribution, paperwork for compensation claims, and community rehabilitation. It is unlikely there will be a job shortage," Lin said.
Lin emphasized that only those whose houses were rendered uninhabitable and who are working for local governments will qualify for the subsidies. The beneficiaries will also be restricted to spouses and children, said Lin.
But labor representatives have said that this particular change favors homeowners as opposed to tenants.
Chang Feng-yi (張2l益) of the Taiwan Labor Front (台灣3?u陣線) said the subsidy should favor those who lost their jobs in the quake, not those whose homes were destroyed.
The policy effectively excludes tenants, Chang said.
"Unemployed workers were more deprived during the quake, and the government's unfair policy will make them suffer more," he said.
"This runs contrary to the goals of the Employment Security Fund and the role of the CLA," Chang added.
Responding to the attacks, Lin said another policy would be applied to those who were left unemployed but do not own homes.
The Temporary Job Allowance, a daily payment of NT$542 which also requires applicants to take jobs with local governments, has been offered to non-homeowners in disaster areas who were left unemployed after the quake, the council said.
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