Members of several workers’ associations gathered in front of the Council of Labor Affairs building yesterday to protest alleged violations of minimum salary regulations by companies who force employees to take unpaid leave.
The protesters called on the council to crack down on businesses that violate the law.
Many businesses have announced pay cuts in the past few months, with some asking workers to take unpaid leave to help cut costs. Last week, the council announced that firms were allowed to pay full-time employees less than the minimum monthly salary of NT$17,280 by forcing them to take unpaid leave. But after widespread criticism, it reversed its position on Tuesday.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
The protest was organized by Raging Citizens Act Now! (RCAN) and gathered more than 50 representatives from several labor associations, including the Confederation of Taipei Trade Unions and the Taiwan International Workers’ Association.
The protesters carried signs and shouted: “Bad economy, workers are betrayed,” “the government should help workers negotiate” and “pay cuts disguised as unpaid leave.”
“We are giving one week for [CLA Minister] Jennifer Wang [王如玄] to review businesses and immediately penalize any that violate the law,” RCAN spokesperson Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) shouted. “Violators should not be eligible for bailout funds from the government.”
The protesters also demanded that employment stimulus programs, such as the ‘get to work immediately’ plan that applies only to the unemployed, be extended to workers forced to take unpaid leave.
“[The CLA] has many tools to stimulate employment, but so far, only verbal promises have been made. The CLA needs to show real commitment,” she said.
The protesters threw rice bowls at the ground to symbolize the CLA’s failure to help workers keep their jobs.
“Our rice bowls will eventually break,” Lai said.
They also threw rice at the CLA building.
After some shoving between police and protesters, Huang Wei-shen (黃維琛), head of the council’s labor standards section, came out of the building and spoke to the protesters.
He reiterated the council’s decision that businesses could not force workers to take unpaid leave and that workers could file complaints if their employers did so.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS