Amid criticism over the increasing number of leased employees in various government departments, which is said to be to blame for the stagnation of wages, Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Minister Frank Huang (黃富源) yesterday said he would address the issue.
In response to lawmakers’ questions, Huang told a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee that his agency has been working with the Council of Labor Affairs to formulate a draft act to regulate companies which terminate employees’ contracts.
Citing a report of the Chinese-language magazine Business Today, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said the number of workers employed after being referred by an employee-leasing firm increased to 570,000 last year from 70,000 in 2002.
Lai said that the growth of the employee-leasing industry, which has provided companies with a convenient and flexible finance option, was a major cause of wage stagnation and “the government has been responsible for the rapid growth of the service.”
“The government is a big client of employee-leasing firms. The Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training at the Council of Labor Affairs alone has more than 2,000 leased employees,” Lai said.
Due to the lack of rules and regulations requiring employee-leasing firms to make good on pay and benefits promised to workers they refer, the 570,000 people hired by client companies work without legal protection, Lai said.
In response, Huang said the government’s workforce is composed of civil servants, contract and temporary workers, and leased workers.
The number of leased employees working for the government has declined from 15,514 in 2010 to 10,223 last year, Huang said.
Huang said that leased employees receive better pay when they are dispatched to work in the government than in most private enterprises because they receive the same benefits as civil servants.
He promised Lai that his agency would look into the issue and present a report to the committee in one month.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻) demanded that the government vow to abstain from the use of leased employees before an act governing the atypical employment relations is established.
A draft act on employee leasing companies is being formulated by his administration and the Council of Labor Affairs, Huang said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or