Business groups invited to a Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) hearing on proposed changes to the labor law that would regulate the temporary and contract labor market yesterday accused the council of threatening the survival of businesses that rely on such workers.
The council began holding hearings recently to discuss a proposal to amend the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) that would include regulations and restrictions on the use of contract and temporary workers by businesses and hiring agencies.
Yesterday’s hearing involved representatives from business groups and major recruitmentagencies.
Business representatives said that by capping the percentage of a company’s contract workforce at 3 percent, it was telling companies with less than 30 employees that they are prohibited from hiring any contract employees, which would affect about 80 percent of small and medium-sized companies in Taiwan.
Despite the proposed 3 percent cap on temporary workers, the amendments provide that a company would still be able to hire contract workers to make up to 20 percent of its workforce provided it receives union approval and a majority of its employees are union members.
However, participants said that despite what looked like flexibility by allowing businesses to adjust the percentage upwards after obtaining agreement from their workers’ union, it would be impossible for the union to agree to a higher percentage of contract employees because unions must protect its own interests.
“The amendment would require hiring agencies to sign non-fixed term contracts with contract employees, which means that hiring agencies would be forced to pay severance fees if there are no companies to which workers can be dispatched,” said Chen Chu-sheng (陳竹勝), president of the Fullens Human Resources Management Co.
Chen added that this would give agencies very little room to maneuver.
The proposed changes would also prohibit hiring contract workers in certain industries, such as the medical, security, airline, marine, public transportation and coal mining industries.
The proposal came after the Control Yuan censured the council for what it said was a failure to adequately regulate the temporary and contract labor market and to crack down on hiring agencies that violate labor laws.
Government statistics showed that the number of Taiwanese workers on short-term and temporary contracts reached 687,000 in May last year, a significant increase from 130,000 in 2003 and 60,000 in 1996.
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