The National Alliance for Workers of Closed Factories yesterday vowed to continue fighting for the interests and dignity of workers by staging a series of protests this year that will begin with a rally at Taipei Railway Station today.
Today’s protest is scheduled to begin at 3pm and marks the one-year anniversary of a demonstration the group staged last year at the station that made headlines across the nation.
The organization was formed by former employees of several large factories who either retired or were laid off 16 years ago without receiving any severance or retirement pay after their workplaces were shut down.
To assist these workers, the government agreed to give them loans that had to be repaid only after they had found new jobs. However, the workers then started receiving payment due notices from the Council of Labor Affairs asking them to pay back the loans, including interest and late fees.
The notices sparked a series of protests, with labor rights advocates arguing that the government should not ask the former employees to repay the loans because the council was party to blame for failing to ensure that the employers had sufficient funds for their staff’s retirement payouts.
The council also neglected to seek compensation from the employers after they shut down their factories, the alliance said.
The loans that the laid-off workers received should be considered as part of a “national compensatory fund” to repair the damage done by the government’s administrative negligence, the rights advocates added.
The plight of the alliance members came into the national spotlight on Feb. 5 last year when nearly 100 workers paralyzed the Taiwan Railways Administration system by jumping off the platforms and laying on the tracks at Taipei Railway Station.
“It [the protest] let the public see the workers’ desperation and persecution at the hands of the government, but it did not serve as a wake-up call for the government. Tragic things continue to happen and people without means are still being treated unfairly, as can be seen in incidents ranging from the forced demolition of civilians’ houses in Dapu [(大埔), Miaoli County], to the truck driver who rammed his truck through the entrance of Presidential Office Building,” the alliance said on Facebook.
“As the new year begins, we have no other choice but to continue fighting. We will go back to Taipei Railway Station and pray that the protests will proceed smoothly and everyone will eventually live in peace,” it said.
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