Labor rights activists protested yesterday outside the Council of Labor Affairs against stagnant salaries and the rising cost of living, announcing that a larger rally is planned for Tuesday, which is Labor Day.
The protesters performed a skit in which a hapless citizen was shot in the heart by black-and-white arrows, each representing a retail item the price of which has increased, and had a gas pump nozzle aimed at his head.
The skit was intended to highlight the extent to which the rising prices are making it difficult for many to get by or provide for their families.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Labor Rights Association head Luo Mei-wen (羅美文) said that labor groups are asking for a wage increase, gender equality in wages and an end to the practice of using day laborers and contract workers.
They also want more workplace inspections carried out by the government, more social housing, higher taxes on the rich and more public daycare centers.
In addition, the groups called on the government to work harder to prevent the broadly defined “system of job responsibility” being abused by employers.
Under the system, employees are assigned tasks to complete regardless of how long they take, and that approach is widely considered to be responsible for some of the alleged deaths from overwork.
The groups also urged the government to abolish Article 84-1 of the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), which stipulates that once an employer has reach an agreement with employee and reported said agreement to the government supervisory agency, the employer is exempt from Articles 30, 32, 36, 37 and 49 of the act.
Those articles regulate the maximum number of working hours, the minimum number of weekly days off and the maximum overtime for employees, as well as stipulating additional safety measures that should be provided to protect female staff working night shifts between 10pm and 6am.
More than 1,000 workers will take to the streets on Tuesday in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正), the activists said, adding that the march would be preceded two days earlier by a protest on Sunday that will take place in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Banciao District (板橋).
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
RSS