The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday put forward a draft aimed at downsizing the Examination Yuan as a first step toward abolishing the agency and also reiterated its support for a five-day working week.
The proposed amendments to the Organic Act of the Examination Yuan (考試院組織法) would reduce the number of Examination Yuan members from 19 to seven and reduce the tenure of members from six years to four years.
The NPP said the measure would save the government NT$33 million (US$1.02 million) per year in personnel costs, a figure that would represent more than half of the Examination Yuan’s projected payroll expenses of NT$60.32 million this year.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The draft would stipulate that no more than half of the Examination Yuan members could be affiliated with a political party, in a bid to prevent patronage appointments.
The Examination Yuan is the highest authority overseeing national examinations and only experts in the field should be appointed as members, but existing appointment regulations do not prevent posts from being awarded to candidates with close ties to a ruling party, NPP Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said.
“There is a surfeit of Examination Yuan members and they enjoy overlong tenures. Before constitutional changes can be made to abolish the Examination Yuan, the agency should be downsized to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency,” Hsu said.
The party also reiterated its stance on the five-day working week, saying that the two days off work ought to be counted as ordinary leave or fixed days off, in contrast with the Ministry of Labor’s proposal that the two days off consist of one fixed day off and one flexible “rest day.”
The ministry’s proposal has prompted heated protests because it allows employers to ask employees to work on rest days if the employee consents.
The ministry on Monday released an opinion poll which found that 85.8 percent of respondents supported the ministry’s five-day working week policy, with one day off counting as an ordinary leave day and one as a “rest day.”
Hsu questioned the validity of the poll and the source of the respondents, saying the ministry should stand firmly in support of workers’ rights instead of making laws favorable to employers.
“Long working hours and low salaries are a great humiliation for the nation. Employers should understand that employees are valuable assets and productivity can be improved when working conditions improve. Employers must not pretend they are the victims when they are taking advantage [of workers],” Hsu said, in reference to a remark by Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (工商協進會) chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐), who said the nation already has too many holidays.
“Productivity is not automatically boosted by increased working hours and employers should learn from successful companies that have grown revenue by offering workers increased benefits,” NPP Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said.
The Social Democratic Party criticized the ministry’s poll and said the government is pandering to employers, adding that when workers “voluntarily” agree to work on days off, it is not a choice, but a response to pressure from their employer.
“What the government should do is create reasonable working conditions for employees rather than acting as henchmen for capitalists, which is a shameless and ignorant activity,” the party said.
The party added that the ministry’s actions violate President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) campaign pledges on labor policies, as workers’ annual working hours could now increase rather than decrease, which would increase the risk of occupational injuries through overwork.
Additional Reporting by Alison Hsiao
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