The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will postpone major staff cuts until after December's legislative elections, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"We will take care of this issue in phases," Lien said. "We will reconsider it ... Particularly in view of the approaching legislative elections, there would be an impact if we were to lay off all of the party's workers at this time."
Lien was responding to concerns raised by grassroots KMT workers after word got out that the KMT was planning to slash its workforce by the end of next month.
On Thursday the KMT's reform task force decided to recommend to the party that it lay off all 1,700 of its staff after settling salaries for this year. It was suggested that the party then rehire a maximum of 500 personnel according to need.
KMT Vice Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
The task force will forward its recommendations to the KMT's weekly Central Standing Committee meeting this Wednesday for final approval.
The KMT employs around 1,700 people, a workforce almost 10 times greater than that of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The union representing KMT staff yesterday expressed regret over the task force's recommended downsizing plan.
"Although we disapprove of the downsizing plan, what alternative is there for us?" KMT union boss Liu Chien-sung (
Liu criticized the task force for its proposal to rehire "good" workers after laying off personnel en masse.
"Whoever came up with the idea of `rehiring the good ones' hasn't got a brain in his head," Liu said.
"What does it mean when you say `good ones'? What do you then call the other 1,200 people who don't get rehired?" he asked.
"And once again, we have had to learn about all of this from media reports and not from the party itself," Liu said.
Comments critical of the party were left by angry KMT staff on the Web site of the union, with one saying that "the party's authorities should stop pushing party workers around."
Other comments made note of how soon they would be laid off, and asked why they shouldn't stop helping the party in its legislative campaign work.
Responding to an apparent lack of staff interest in the December campaign, Liu dismissed the comments as "merely the emotional words of angry people."
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