Despite a nod from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday acknowledging the Executive Yuan’s efforts to map out job creation measures, several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus members expressed reservations about the Cabinet’s planned drive.
After an inter-ministerial brainstorming session on Sunday night, the Cabinet said it would launch a four-year economic stimulus drive to create 150,000 jobs and cut the unemployment rate to below 4.5 percent this year.
BUDGET
The Cabinet agreed on a draft of the NT$715 billion (US$21.20 billion) initiative, NT$320 billion of which was earmarked for use this year.
Of the new jobs, the Cabinet said between 120,000 and 140,000 would be created through the construction of public infrastructure, while upwards of 20,000 service jobs would be created in the public sector.
In addition, the government said it would seek the cooperation of private enterprises in cutting the number of foreign workers on their payrolls to open another 30,000 jobs for local workers.
WORKING OVERTIME
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday said Ma recognized the Cabinet’s “speedy response” to the soaring unemployment rate and appreciated the hours put in by officials during the Lunar New Year holiday to address the issue.
However, KMT caucus Deputy Secretary-General Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said she doubted whether the Cabinet’s proposal would reduce the unemployment rate.
Taiwan’s jobless rate hit 5.03 percent in December, the highest level since September 2003.
“Even if [the government] can create 150,000 jobs and lower the unemployment rate to 4.5 percent, the rate will rise again once the government uses up its budget [to create these jobs]. This is just a waste a money,” she said yesterday when asked for comment.
TIME TO DELIVER
KMT Legislator Ho Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳), of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, said more needed to be done to bring the jobless rate under 4.5 percent.
“Most of the people who have been laid off are in the information technology industry [IT] ... It would be difficult for these people to work at construction sites. The Cabinet may have to adjust its policy,” she said.
Ho said the administration needed to start delivering on its promises to improve the unemployment problem.
The KMT caucus secretary-general, Chang Sho-wen (張碩文), said it would be difficult to realize the Cabinet’s goal given the current economic climate.
“But the government will definitely do its best,” he said.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) urged the public to give the government feedback.
“The public needs to supervise the government, too, to ensure the policy’s execution,” Wang said.
‘MEANINGLESS JOBS’
At a separate setting, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told reporters that the Executive Yuan’s plan would only offer “short term, meaningless jobs.”
The government should generate long-term job opportunities that would be meaningful for the nation’s industrial structure, she said.
“The government should create jobs that have substantive meaning. Spending big money on creating short-term jobs not only fails to address the problem but is a waste of national resources,” she said.
SOCIAL STABILITY
The DPP is obligated to scrutinize the government’s policies, Tsai said, adding that rising unemployment would have an impact on social stability.
DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said that the Cabinet’s plan could help the government lower the unemployment rate for a short time but would not really resolve the underlying issues behind Taiwan’s rising jobless rate.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said the public had lost confidence in Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and his Cabinet’s capability to deal with the economic downturn.
In light of this, it was regretful that Ma stood by the Cabinet and was not considering a reshuffle, Tsai Huang-liang said.
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