In defense of the newly amended Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), the Cabinet yesterday said that a controversial amendment allowing employers to offer compensatory leave in lieu of overtime pay would not deprive employees of their right to overtime pay, while Premier William Lai (賴清德) praised Minister of Labor Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) for her help in passing the legislation.
The Legislative Yuan on Wednesday approved a set of amendments that allow businesses to raise the maximum number of consecutive working days from six to 12; conditionally lower the rest time between shifts from the normally mandated 11 hours to eight hours; and raise the limit on monthly overtime hours from 46 to 54.
Article 32-1, a new addendum, allows employees who have worked overtime to receive compensatory leave in lieu of overtime pay, with the length of leave equal to the number of hours worked in overtime.
However, the amendments require that employers pay between 1.33 times and 2.66 times a worker’s normal hourly wage for overtime — with the exact rate depending on the number of overtime hours and whether it is on a weekday or on their flexible days-off.
The addendum has come under fire from critics who said the calculation of compensatory leave hours is not in line with the act’s calculation of overtime pay and could be used by employers to exploit workers.
The Cabinet yesterday defended the legislation, saying that the criticism was based on an inaccurate interpretation of the act.
Deputy Minister of Labor Shih Keh-her (施克和) said it is the right of employees, not employers, to demand compensatory leave, and employers are prohibited from forcing employees to accept compensatory leave in lieu of overtime pay.
“While employees can request compensatory leave, employers cannot ask employees to accept compensatory leave instead of overtime pay. Employers doing so are in breach of the act and would be subject to a maximum fine of NT$1 million (US$33,778),” Shih said.
The addendum was proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus and the amendments would not cause working conditions to deteriorate, Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
As KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) proposed it on Monday, the addendum required that employers offer extra hours of compensatory leave for every hour worked to ensure it was in proportion to the overtime rates stipulated in the act, but the article was later modified in the course of negotiations.
The Ministry of Labor is to “imminently” announce which industries are allowed to raise the maximum number of consecutive working days and lower the minimum rest time between shifts, Shih said, adding he hoped that it would do so before March 1, when the new amendments are to take effect.
During the Cabinet meeting, Lai commended Lin for “showing the courage and determination of a politically appointed official” to push through the legislation in the face of mounting criticism.
Lai’s praise for Lin’s efforts followed reports that the relationship between the two has turned sour.
Lai urged solidarity between businesses and workers and reassured the public that the government would work to revive the economy and fight wage stagnation.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS