This year’s Workers’ Day carried special significance. The consensus in favor of making it a national holiday reflects how Taiwanese society is breaking down occupational barriers and moving toward genuine labor equality.
In recent years, the governing administration has not only raised the minimum wage annually, but public sector employees are also expected to receive a pay increase next year, demonstrating its resolve to safeguard workers’ rights and interests.
As the system begins to see a glimmer of hope, workers across the nation are also receiving stronger support for retirement security and long-term financial stability.
With the Taiwan Stock Exchange surpassing 40,000 points and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) exceeding the NT$2,000 mark, the strategic positioning of retirement funds has translated this wave of technological prosperity into nationwide dividends.
Conservative estimates suggest the government pension fund generated over NT$1 trillion (US$31.6 billion) in a single month, and this year’s payouts could surpass NT$60,000.
This demonstrates that the benefits of industrial upgrading are being shared across society, providing a solid foundation for stable retirements and long-term security for future generations.
Building on this foundation, the government should further extend its reach to the public sector and education system, which both underpin national functioning. Deepening labor equality remains an ongoing democratic endeavor, and restrictions on civil servants forming labor unions could be gradually relaxed in a careful and balanced manner.
In many advanced democracies, public-sector and teachers’ unions have not paralyzed government operations; instead, they have improved administrative efficiency and reflected grassroots challenges. Expanding collective bargaining channels for lower-ranking personnel would boost morale and serve as an indicator of democratic deepening and modern governance.
Occupational safety for frontline educators has become a growing concern, as increasing campus conflicts and student violence place teachers in higher-risk situations where they may be blamed or face threats to personal safety. It is necessary to grant meaningful collective bargaining rights to teachers’ organizations.
Educational authorities should take full responsibility for ensuring safe working conditions. When reviewing regulations such as the Juvenile Justice Act (少年事件處理法), grassroots teachers’ unions should be included through substantive participation and collective bargaining to strengthen occupational safety protections and legal safeguards on campuses.
Faced with an intense international environment and the threat of cognitive warfare, Taiwan needs greater internal social unity.
The governing administration should demonstrate vision and leadership by prioritizing labor equality, improved public sector association rights, and campus occupational safety as key goals of modern governance.
As a democratic frontline in the Indo-Pacific, Taiwan must remain a leader in its semiconductor-driven economy while aligning labor and human rights protections with the world’s most advanced democracies.
Only by ensuring that all employees are treated with dignity and provided adequate protections can Taiwan foster a shared community of destiny, rooted in fairness, inclusion, and long-term national cohesion
It is through this foundation that Taiwan can build a strong society defined by thriving industries, social trust, and a resilient democracy, sustained by collective progress and institutional stability.
Yang Chih-chiang is a teacher.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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