Following the death of a young security guard, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) yesterday accused the Council of Labor Affairs of ignoring deaths from overwork in industries such as the private security sector.
Huang made the accusations during a press conference, accompanied by the mother of the security guard, surnamed Chiang (姜).
The 29-year-old Chiang had been an employee at a private security firm since 2001. According to the company’s policy, security guards must work 12 hours a day and get one day off every four days. Their total working hours are 288 hours per month, with 73 days of leave each year.
Photo: CNA
Chiang’s mother said her son was under severe stress from long-term overwork and died on Dec. 6 last year from a stroke while at work. She said the company refused to recognize the case as death from overwork and the family has not received any compensation.
Huang said the alleged mistreatment of the security guard was the direct result of an “unreasonable” clause in Article 84-1 of the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), which states that workers in certain industries “may arrange their own working hours, regular days off, national holidays and female workers’ night work through other agreements with their employers.”
Private security firms, which are categorized as “monitoring or intermittent jobs,” fall into this category and are taking advantage of this regulatory loophole to exploit workers, Huang said.
In response, the council said that industries and job functions that fall into the category could arrange their own working hours provided the schedule was agreed upon by both parties and that consideration was paid to the wellbeing of workers. The council would nevertheless review the types of industries and job functions that the article applies to, starting with security firms and expanding to other similar work, it said.
The council recently eased restrictions governing compensation for families of workers who die as a result of overwork. The move came after the council faced accusations it was not adequately protecting workers’ rights and turning a blind eye to the growing incidence of overwork-related deaths.
Death from overwork is especially prevalent in the developed economies of East Asia, such as Japan. However, lawmakers and labor groups have highlighted loopholes inherent in labor regulations that they say allow employers to exploit workers.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS