A coalition of more than 13 labor groups continued protests yesterday against the government's policy U-turn on the length of the workweek, saying labor rights are being sacrificed to the current political struggle.
Following the Executive Yuan's decision on Thursday to reverse a decision passed by the legislature, which reduced the maximum workweek to 84 hours in a fortnight, the groups have united to voice their strong opposition to the policy reversal.
Over a hundred labor rights advocates staged a demonstration at the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan yesterday morning, trying to make their anger heard to the government.
Workweek policy has been a hot issue since the government, which had been seen as being labor-friendly, began pushing for a cut to the existing maximum workweek of 48 hours in June.
Originally, the Executive Yuan had reached a consensus with industry and labor groups to reduce the workweek to a maximum of 44-hours. However, when the Executive Yuan's proposal was sent to a vote in the legislature, the KMT, which holds a majority of seats, proposed the even more alluring 84-hours every fortnight and passed legislation to this effect on June 16.
According to the Constitution, the Executive Yuan can request that the legislature reconsider a bill which is difficult to implement. Nevertheless, the Executive Yuan did not take any action to reverse the legislature's 84-hour decision.
Defending its policy U-turn, the Executive Yuan has reasoned that a return to the 44-hour standard is necessary because the 84-hour decision has prompted a flood of companies to leave the country and added to Taiwan's economic slowdown.
However, the groups said that the root of Taiwan's economic problems is the political turmoil now enveloping the country, for which they claimed both the ruling party and the opposition are responsible. They said it is not fair to blame the reduction of the workweek for companies moving abroad or the economic slowdown.
Lin Hui-kuan (林惠官), president of the Chinese Federation of Labor (全國總工會), one of the three national labor unions in Taiwan, said before the Labor Standard Law was implemented in 1984, laborers were warned that the law would discourage industries from staying in the country and were told they would lose their jobs in the end. The prediction was proved false, but now the same threats are being made to the laborers over the workweek issue, he said.
"The political situation is apparently the source of the various economic problems, we can't accept the workweek issue being used as a scapegoat and laborers' rights being sacrificed," Lin said.
The groups insisted the Executive Yuan stick to the 84-hour decision, but they also suggested a possible scenario of concession.
They said if the Executive Yuan could have industries promise "to maintain their roots in Taiwan" (
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS