Industries hit by the COVID-19 pandemic have been forced to take certain measures that affect employees and such cases are becoming increasingly common.
As most flights have been canceled, some flight attendants are working part-time at convenience stores to make a living. Meanwhile, middle-aged and older workers are being pressured to retire early or change jobs.
Under such circumstances, the issue of the “working poor” has again come under the spotlight, a key social issue that must not be overlooked during the pandemic.
The so-called working poor, also known as the “new poor,” are in contrast to the “old poor.” Traditionally, the old poor exist in an industrial society with a relatively stable employment structure and many full-time jobs. Relief for the old poor focuses on monetary aid, and the goal is to deal with social risks such as short-term unemployment, retirement and disability.
However, issues from Taiwan’s unstable job market and rising service industry to the increase in employment of “atypical workers” enabling employers to keep costs down have worsened the phenomenon of working people falling into poverty.
What is worrying is the imputed income limit, which was created using old-poor thinking in the Public Assistance Act (社會救助法). It is difficult for working people with low incomes to receive monetary aid. Even if such workers can barely scratch out a living, they are still excluded from the social welfare system.
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics data show that as many as 819,000 Taiwanese last year worked as atypical workers and could potentially fall in the working poor category — the most in a decade.
Many travel agencies, restaurants and airlines have been facing an operational crisis, while may people have been forced to leave their familiar workplaces and find other ways of making a living. Changing professions is never an easy task.
That being the case, atypical employment, with its low threshold, low income and low stability, has become an option for such people, and the post-COVID-19 era is likely to generate more poor workers. No one knows exactly when the pandemic will end and whether workers will regain their full-time jobs afterward.
The pandemic has worsened the phenomenon of the working poor, and it is hard for the government’s traditional social relief system to provide substantial assistance to them.
There are two measures that could relieve the impact of the pandemic on the working poor:
First, the government should cooperate with non-governmental organizations, which are less restricted by social relief regulations and might be more flexible in assisting the working poor. By doing so, the government could learn the actual situation and specific needs of this group.
Second, the government should review the act and adjust the imputed income limit, to allow those in need to receive substantial assistance. Otherwise, the working poor who are suspended midair might find themselves marginalized.
Tsai Tien-yao is a graduate student at National Sun Yat-sen University’s Institute of Political Science.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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