Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) apologized to the public yesterday for his remark that the inventor of unpaid leave deserved to receive a Nobel Prize.
“I would hereby like to apologize if the public had a different interpretation [of my remark] and if it caused any inconvenience,” Wu said in a written statement, adding that he did not intend to cause offence.
Wu drew widespread criticism from civic groups and legislators on Wednesday over comments he made on Tuesday while meeting with winners of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ award for creating substantial job opportunities.
He said that whoever created the unpaid leave system deserved the Nobel Prize because the system helped businesses retain ties to their employees during the global economic crisis without the need for severance pay, adding that it allowed employees to return to their jobs when the economy improved.
Enraged by Wu’s comments, labor activists on Wednesday called the premier “brain dead,” saying he was insensitive to the plight of workers. Wu at the time responded by saying people needed to develop a sense of humor.
Finding that his explanation failed to quell labor groups’ anger, Wu issued a written apology yesterday, saying he was only giving credit to workers and employers for their cooperation and mutual understanding during the harsh economic downturn.
Earlier yesterday, about 20 young labor rights activists staged a protest outside the Executive Yuan, calling Wu “brainless.”
“Many corporations took the opportunity [presented by unpaid leave during the economic downturn] to lay off employees or force senior workers to resign,” Youth Labor Union 95 member Hu Meng-yu (胡孟瑀) said.
Lee Ying-hsuan (李盈萱), one of the protesters, said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should allow the premier to take unpaid leave so he could develop a sense of empathy for the difficulties faced by workers.
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