Mon, Oct 30, 2017 page1

• Students demand return of national holidays

  • By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
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  Representatives from various university student groups yesterday urged the government to reinstate the seven national holidays that had been canceled with the implementation of the 40-hour workweek policy, saying the policy has caused many of them to lose a significant portion of their income.

  The students staged a protest in front of the Presidential Office Building, demanding that the government reinstate the holidays.

  They later walked in Halloween costumes to Ximen MRT Station and talked to members of the public.

  

  Members of student groups demonstrate outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei yesterday, calling on the government to reinstate seven national holidays that were canceled in labor law reforms.

  Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

  The students shouted they wanted to “scare away the evil politicians” and that they refused to work overtime and be underpaid.

  Yang Zi-jing (楊子敬), a representative from the National Taiwan University (NTU) Dalawasao Club, said holidays are important to young workers because employers must pay employees twice their salary if they work on national holidays.

  If the seven holidays were in place and the students worked on those days, they could earn an additional NT$7,000 per year, which could cover their apartment rent for one month or other living expenses, he said.

  As the holidays are no longer in place, they are working for an additional 56 hours for free, Yang said.

  He said that the cancelation of the seven national holidays did not only affect part-time workers.

  Taiwanese employees generally work long hours, Yang said, adding that their work hours are unlikely to decrease if President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration does not reinstate the seven national holidays.

  Yang cited a statement made by former minister of labor Kuo Fang-yu (郭芳煜), who said that young employees can earn an additional NT$30,000 per year if the government enforces the 40-hour workweek policy.

  His club conducted a survey in summer last year, before the new workweek policy was implemented, Yang said.

  The poll found that only 7 percent of part-time workers have actually received extra pay for working overtime, he said.

  This shows that young workers are not likely to earn more money under the new policy, Yang said.

  Yang also accused the government of deceiving the public by saying that the seven holidays were canceled in exchange for a 40-hour workweek policy, as the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics has revealed that monthly average work hours were down only 1.4 hours during the January-to-August period compared with the same period last year.

  The group is opposed to postponing annual paid leave, easing the cap on overtime work hours and other proposed changes to the 40-hour workweek policy, as they would only worsen the work environment, Yang said.

  Chang Yu-meng (張育萌), a representative from the NTU Student Association, said that rising housing prices have increased students’ living costs.

  Part-time workers were affected the most when the government canceled the seven holidays to implement the 40-hour workweek, Chang said.

  “Youth poverty is growing in the nation. What the government did will produce a group of servile workers for the nation’s workforce,” he said.
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