Pioneer labor activists urged labor groups to continue fighting for workers' rights yesterday as the Taiwan Labor Front (
"The goal of the Taiwan Labor Front, and labor unions in general, is to assist those who need help the most in our society, such as single mothers and the disabled, who have fewer work opportunities. However, despite the transfer of political power, improvement of labor policy has been minimal since the founding of the Taiwan Labor Front," said Kuo Chi-jen (
Kuo served as a first-term volunteer attorney for the Taiwan Labor Legal Assistance Organization (
The Taiwan Labor Front was founded on May 1, 1984, during the Martial Law era by a group of educated social activists who gathered at Taipei's Gikong Presbyterian Church.
"The Taiwan Labor Front is the country's most important labor organization, as it was the first founded by a handful of educated members who were able to raise awareness of socialist ideology and workers' rights," said Wang Li-hsia (
Several incumbent political heavyweights had been involved with the Taiwan Labor Front, such as President Chen Shui-bian (
"Before the founding of the Taiwan Labor Front, there was no such thing as awareness of workers' issues, as laborers were held in low esteem in our society and they were often too ashamed to tell people what they did for a living," Wang said.
Two of the founding members, Su Ching-li (蘇慶黎) and Yang Chin-chu (楊青矗), were arrested and incarcerated in the aftermath of the Kaohsiung Incident (美麗島事件) for their involvement in social movements.
The Taiwan Labor Front's current president, Lai Wan-Chi (賴萬枝), said the group hopes to propose more forward-looking, complete and feasible policies "in order to further improve the democratization of Taiwan."
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