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Lawmakers slam CLA over labor fund investments

“Some people work for two days and ‘rest’ for two days.”

— Yang Chiung-ying, KMT legislator

Lawmakers slammed the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) during the legislature’s Health, Environment and Labor Committee meeting yesterday for the NT$80 billion (US$2.4 billion) in investment losses suffered by the Labor Insurance Fund and Labor Pension Fund and expressed concerns that many workers may be deprived of their pensions.

During the meeting, CLA Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) admitted that between January and September, the funds had suffered NT$80 billion in unrealized losses because of the global financial crisis and the plunge in the local stock market.

Legislators from both parties criticized the council for its mismanagement of the funds and expressed concern that the pensions of retired workers would be affected.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Liao Cheng-ching (廖正井) criticized the council for having invested too much in local stocks, causing the funds to take a hit whenever the stock market was not doing well.

“[The council] should react quicker to investment losses,” he said.

The council showed poor judgment on investment decisions, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said.

Lawmakers also slammed the council for the high unemployment rate, which is expected to rise over the next few months.

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics is set to announce last month’s unemployment rate on Monday.

When DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) asked Wang for a prediction, she said the council expected the rate to be higher than September’s 4.27 percent, but that “it should not exceed 5 [percent].”

Lawmakers also said that while many corporations had not ordered massive layoffs, they had used other methods such as unpaid leave or demotions to cut costs.

KMT Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) said that many workers were being forced to take unpaid leave.

“Some people work for two days and ‘rest’ for two days,” she said.

Wang said that despite the economic troubles, the council would ensure that the rights of workers were protected.
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