Labor activists expressed concern yesterday that revised regulations on working hours and nighttime work for women would result in poorer working conditions yesterday.
The Council of Labor Affairs concluded drafting amendments to labor laws on Monday, to put into effect proposals adopted by the Economic Development Advisory Conference's plenary session last weekend.
In accordance with conference resolutions, the council's draft says that if a worker has a day off every week and does not work more than 12 hours a day, his total annual work hours may be compressed into peak periods when the employer needs intensive labor. In order to proceed with a compressed schedule, a company must obtain an agreement from its union or a majority of its workers.
Overtime should be paid if the employee works over 48 hours a week. The compensation for such extreme flexibility on work hours is that workers will enjoy a reduction in total annual work hours, which will be calculated on the basis of an average 40-hour week, rather than the 84-hour fortnight.
But labor activists object.
"The conference's consensus gave too much power to employers," said Tang Shu (唐曙) from the Labor Rights Association, who strongly opposes allowing employers to further erode the 84-work-hours-per-fortnight stipulated by law.
"Longer work hours and insufficient rest leads to higher risk of occupational accidents," said Chuang Miao-tze (莊妙慈), secretary-general of the Committee for Action for Labor Legislation. "Besides, Taiwan's unions are simply too weak to negotiate with employers."
Labor activists said employees without a union will be forced to agree with the employer's decision.
Not all workers are able to belong to unions. The Labor Union Law says companies with over 30 employees are obliged to have unions.
Only 39 percent of local businesses have unions, said Yang Shi-shang (
Moreover, Pai Cheng-hsieng (白政憲), a labor activist and one of the few labor participants at the conference, said employers oppress unions and "punish" employees who form them.
Labor activists said workers would be forced to accept the proposed arrangement, which would have a negative impact on family life, especially since the Executive Yuan -- though not yet the Legislative Yuan -- has approved an amendment to the Union Law, which grants workers the right to choose whether to join the company's union.
Current regulations stipulate that workers are obliged to join the union if the company has one.
Chuang said he is afraid that workers would fear employers' retaliation for union membership.
In addition, some labor activists are upset over the draft law's relaxation of restrictions preventing females from working between 10pm and 6am, except in certain industries.
The draft simply stipulates that pregnant women and women nursing babies will not be allowed to work between those hours.
Labor activists said the change simply allows employers to exploit cheap labor, although some female activists welcomed it as the current restriction prevents women from being accepted for night-shift work.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique