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DPP to lay off some staffers next year

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun confirmed yesterday that the party will see personnel cutbacks next year, eliminating 20 percent of the current 168 positions.

At a gathering with reporters, Yu said that cutting back on staff was part of the party's effort to streamline itself.

He said the party normally spends 40 percent of its funds on personnel expenses, but the headquarters had determined there were some "redundant personnel."

"[We] have to streamline whatever needs to be reduced," he said.

DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), who was also at the gathering, said the party would safeguard employee rights in accordance with the Labor Standards Act (勞基法).

He said the layoffs were not aimed at any one department or specific personnel and that the cutback was being implemented from "a purely organizational development perspective."

Yu and Lin's comments came in response to a report in the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday that said the DPP would lay-off one-fifth of its staff because of financial problems.

Yu and Lin admitted that the party did not have enough funds to cover its expenses last month and that it had taken out a mortgage on some of its real estate for about NT$30 million (US$917,400).

Yu, however, dismissed an allegation that the DPP was short of funds because it spent so much "preparing him for his bid for the presidency in 2008."

"I was wronged," he said. "If I were going to prepare myself for the presidential poll, I would not have thought of trimming the party's personnel because this action could create grudges."

Yu said he had raised more funds than he was required to for the Dec. 9 municipal elections.

He also blamed political feuding between the pan-blue and pan-green camps for the financial problems, saying that banks were afraid to lend the DPP money even though it does not have a bad credit record.

Lin said that the financial deficit was a temporary problem because it would be easier for the party to raise funds after winning the Kaohsiung mayoral election.

He said the layoffs would also help the DPP establish a promotion mechanism for those who performed well in the recent campaigns.

But DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said personnel expenses should take priority over other expenses.

DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said he was in favor of a personnel cutback because the party had grown too large during President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) term as party chairman.

However, Cheng said it was "embarrassing" to talk about layoffs before the Lunar New Year. He said it was "healthier" for parties to fundraise, and parties should not own assets or run businesses the way the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) does.
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