The number of workers on unpaid leave increased by 1,341 in the first half of August, the Ministry of Labor said on Friday.
The ministry said that a slower economy meant that some manufacturers had to reduce production, leaving employees idle.
Data compiled by the ministry showed that the number of employees on unpaid leave as of Aug. 15 stood at 2,012, up from 671 at the end of July. The latest number was the highest so far this year, the ministry said.
In the first half of August, 26 employers nationwide were running unpaid leave programs with the consent of their employees, six more than in the second half of last month, ministry data showed.
Five employers had ended their unpaid leave programs, but 11 others launched new programs, bringing the total to 26, the data showed.
Among the 26 companies, three firms, all in the old economy sector and including two machinery suppliers, saw the number of furloughed workers topping 300 each, the ministry said.
In addition, most of the companies with employees on unpaid leave were small enterprises with a workforce of fewer than 50, and their unpaid leave programs were for less than three months, it said, adding that their employees consented to the plan, agreeing to take up to four days of unpaid leave each month.
The ministry said that despite their unpaid leave programs, the employers have been instructed to pay their employees no less than the minimum wage, which stands at NT$23,100 per month.
The government has also implemented a program to reduce the financial impact of the furloughs on workers, offering them training to improve their skills, it said.
Employees also have the option of taking online training courses available on the ministry’s Skill Evaluation Center Web site, it said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard