The food and beverage sector, and lodging providers reported the biggest rise in workers on unpaid leave programs in Taiwan over the past week amid record numbers of COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
The number of furloughed workers in those sectors totaled 2,610 as of yesterday, an increase of 1,061 from the report released on Tuesday last week, ministry data showed.
The increase accounted for 75 percent of the 1,412 workers who were added to unpaid leave programs during the period, the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛) said Taiwan’s lodging, and food and beverage sectors were beginning to feel the impact of the COVID-19 outbrak, which has discouraged people from dining out and traveling.
Even well-established companies were not spared, Huang said, citing two large hotels and a restaurant chain that together placed about 400 workers on unpaid leave programs over the past week.
As of yesterday, Taiwan had a total of 17,193 furloughed workers, up from 15,781 a week earlier, ministry data showed.
Other industries that have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in the past few weeks include support services, transportation, warehousing, retail and manufacturing, ministry data showed.
The unpaid leave programs typically last for less than three months, with employees taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, the ministry said.
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