Hundreds of unemployed workers and union members gathered at Liberty Square in Taipei yesterday and held their own weiya (尾牙, a year-end party held before the Lunar New Year) in protest against the government’s inability to help them keep their jobs.
The workers sat down at dozens of banquet tables and had rice noodles and pig blood soup (豬血湯).
The event was organized by labor associations and workers’ unions from across the country, including the National Federation of Independent Trade Unions (NAFITU), the Confederation of Taipei Trade Unions, the Youth Labor Union, the Formosa Plastics Group workers’ union and several others.
Most companies in the country hold weiya for their employees as a form of thanking them for a year of hard work. Labor associations and unions decided to hold their own weiya for those who lost their jobs because of the economic downturn and unfair labor practices by their employers, the organizers said.
The event was also a follow-up to a protest held last month, when hundreds of angry union members gathered in front of the Council of Labor Affairs, demanding that it crack down on businesses that conduct illegal mass layoffs, force workers to take unpaid leave and engage in other illegal labor practices.
Unsatisfied with the response they received from the council and the lack of change in labor policy, the protesters said the mass weiya was a form of protest.
The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said that as of the end of November the unemployment rate had continued to climb — reaching 4.64 percent, with more than 500,000 people unemployed.
“Unpaid leave means the employer is trying to avoid paying workers their salaries and forcing them to quit on their own. It is really just unemployment in disguise,” NAFITU president Chu Wei-li (朱維立) said.
The government should require all companies planning layoffs, pay cuts or unpaid leave to meet requirements by showing that they have suffered long-term losses from a decline in demand and prove they had no other option but to cut salary costs, he said.
The workers also demanded the CLA set up a fund to help troubled workers delay paying off loans and urged the council to extend unemployment benefits from six months to nine months.
In response, the CLA said it was mulling a “labor rights fund” that would provide subsidies to workers whose disputes with their employers end in litigation. As for extending unemployment benefits, the council said it would evaluate conditions in the labor market and map out necessary measures.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
RSS