The Cabinet has asked Deputy Minister of Labor Liao Huei-fang (廖蕙芳) to reconsider her resignation after the former labor rights activist reportedly quit due to conflicts with the Ministry of Labor over a draft amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
Liao on Sunday announced her resignation on Facebook, writing that she had on Nov. 13 tendered her resignation to Minister of Labor Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) and it was being processed.
A former Taiwan Labour Front director-general, Liao’s resignation has been interpreted as the result of irreconcilable differences between her beliefs and the draft labor law amendment, which has been criticized by labor groups for seeking to raise the maximum number of consecutive working days, lower the minimum rest time between shifts and conditionally raise the limit on monthly overtime hours.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that he had asked Lin to retain Liao.
Liao had several times asked to resign, but former premier Lin Chuan (林全) had persuaded her to stay, Lai said.
Liao’s performance has been outstanding, Lai said, calling on her to reconsider her resignation.
Lin Mei-chu during a legislative committee meeting rejected allegations that Liao’s resignation was due to her dissatisfaction with the draft amendment.
The resignation is purely a career decision and she had proposed to resign as early as Sept. 8 following a Cabinet reshuffle, Lin Mei-chu said, adding that she had been trying to retain Liao.
Meanwhile, Lai reiterated the purposes of the draft amendment, saying it would create a work environment that protects labor rights while ensuring flexibility for businesses.
“A good relationship between labor and industry cannot be founded on confrontation, nor is it a zero-sum game, but is instead based on mutual cooperation,” Lai said.
The draft amendment ensures flexibility on overtime, workday and shift arrangements, and annual leave, while keeping four basic labor protections intact, which are total work hours, two days off every week, total overtime hours and the overtime rate, he said.
The draft amendment “creates a win-win situation” for workers and businesses, Lai said, calling on the Legislative Yuan to support the draft, which he said would be key to economic development.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
The government yesterday donated US$200,000 to the Philippines to support post-earthquake relief and recovery efforts, following a powerful magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Cebu Province late last month, killing at least 72 people and injuring 559 others. The donation was presented earlier yesterday by Representative to the Philippines Wallace Chow (周民淦) to Cherbett Maralit, deputy resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, at Taiwan’s representative office in Manila. In his remarks, Chow expressed concern for those affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the central Philippines on the night of Sept. 30. "We sincerely hope for the earliest possible
RSS