The Executive Yuan yesterday said it had activated an intergovernmental mechanism to offer resources to businesses affected by the global economic downturn and to map out medium and long-term countermeasures.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) made the remarks at the weekly Cabinet meeting after he was briefed on a draft proposal to deal with the impact of the eurozone debt crisis on Taiwan’s economy that was put forward after a meeting called by Vice Premier Sean Chen on Wednesday.
“Due to global economic turmoil, a handful of local businesses have enforced unpaid leave, which has caught the attention of the entire society. The government has to actively adopt measures,” an Executive Yuan statement quoted Wu as saying.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA), the National Science Council and the Financial Supervisory Commission, the agencies previously tasked with staying abreast of information about furlough plans adopted by entrepreneurs, “will take the initiative in helping them resolve difficulties,” Wu said.
Wu also instructed the CLA to improve a notification mechanism that has been set up for businesses to report the enactment of -furloughs to make sure that it details the -difference in the number of workers who have agreed to take unpaid days off and the number of workers actually on unpaid leave.
Meanwhile, Wu asked Chen to set up a task force to map out medium and long-term strategies to help local industries upgrade their competitiveness and to adapt to the world’s changing economic climate.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠) said that the ministry had formed a taskforce to reach out to businesses affected by the downturn to help them make good use of available resources provided by the government and in other channels that could carry them through difficulty.
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