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.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it