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CLA chief slammed over report on ECFA drawbacks

Lawmakers criticized Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) yesterday after she said that an estimated 80,000 workers would be adversely affected by an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China.

Wang said that while a report by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) showed that an ECFA would create 250,000 jobs in Taiwan, researchers hired by the CLA to conduct an independent study on the subject showed that “under the worst circumstances,” about 80,000 workers could be adversely affected.

Wang made the remarks at the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee meeting yesterday.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) slammed Wang for her “bold-faced lie” of an estimate, saying that in actuality, the ECFA could affect at least 100,000 workers.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) also expressed skepticism at the council’s numbers, saying that if the number was only 80,000, the issue of an ECFA’s impact on Taiwan’s labor market would not have caused so much tension.

KMT Legislator Hou Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳) was also critical and asked Wang what measures the council was ready to take to address the situation.

Wang said the council was planning to extend unemployment benefits for all workers from six months to nine months; and for middle-aged to elderly workers from nine months to one year. The council could also provide subsidies for up to six months for the difference in salaries caused by a salary reduction or unpaid leave resulting from the agreement. Workers who must relocate more than 30km as a result of a change in workplace could receive a rental subsidy of as much as NT$5,000 for six months.

Aside from benefits to workers, the council would also encourage businesses to hire middle-aged and elderly workers and design jobs that would better fit these workers’ qualifications and abilities, Wang said.

While business groups generally welcome an ECFA, some labor groups worry that it could create serious unemployment.
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