More than 100 workers of the state-run Tang Eng Iron Works Co (唐榮) pleaded with the Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday to do all it can to save the debt-ridden company.
The economics ministry announced earlier this month that it will shut down the iron works if it fails to be fully privatized by the end of August.
The 61-year-old iron works is among the more than 10 state enterprises in the ministry's privatization scheme, which began in 1985.
Between 1994 and 1997, China Petrochemical Development Corp (
On the other hand, the authorities have had difficulty meeting the implementation schedule of 10 other national enterprises. Taking Tang Eng as an example, even though the economics ministry rescheduled the timetable twice, no settlement has been reached.
With the deadline only weeks away and a remote possibility of being fully privatized, the 177 employees of the iron works are starting to wonder how long they will keep their jobs.
A representative of the Tang Eng workers union said that the union has presented the ministry with a proposal regarding pension payments, on-the-job training and other guarantees to the workers as well as the union's participation in outlining job functions and specifications under new management.
Tang Eng will need NT$3.7 billion this year to settle pension payments to its employees, a report from the Council of Economic Planning and Development indicates.
He said that Wu Fong-sheng (吳豐盛), executive director of the Commission of National Corporations under the economics ministry, told them that the proposal will be submitted to the Executive Yuan, because the commission is not in the position to make such decisions.
The Tang Eng workers union had hoped that China Steel, which was privatized in April 1995, would take over Tang Eng's steel production facilities. However, China Steel only promised to make an assessment. Tang Eng's stainless steel plant in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, has an annual production capacity of melting 300,000 tonnes and hot/cold rolling 200,000 tonnes of products.
In addition to Tang Eng, the ministry had set a timetable for the privatization of another nine subordinate enterprises, including Taiwan Power Co (台電), Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油), China Shipbuilding Corp (中船), Aerospace Industrial Development (漢翔), Taiwan Salt Industrial Corp (台鹽), Taiwan Agricultural and Industrial Development Corp (台灣農林), Taiwan Machinery, and Taiwan Chung Hsing Paper Corp (中興紙業).
It remains to be seen whether the privatization of eight of 10 enterprises -- scheduled for completion at the end of July by the ministry -- will actually take place.
The government has been dragging its feet on privatization due to an unwillingness by politicians to address tough questions of employee layoffs and company closures.
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