The number of workers on unpaid leave increased slightly in the last two weeks of last month, Ministry of Labor statistics showed yesterday.
As of Saturday, there were 598 workers on unpaid leave, an increase of 21 from the number recorded as of April 15, data showed.
The number of companies that had furlough programs in place at the end of last month was 25, compared with 21 in the first half of last month.
While one employer stopped implementing unpaid leave in the last two weeks, five others launched furlough programs, data showed.
The ministry said that most of the companies with workers on unpaid leave were small enterprises in the metal and electric industries with a workforce of less than 50 people.
Generally, employees are asked to take unpaid leave for four to eight days a month under the furlough programs, which last for three months at most.
The government has put in place a NT$20 billion (US$619.6 million) program to offer training to affected employees to upgrade their job skills in a bid to reduce the negative effects of unpaid leave.
Furloughed workers in the government program receive a stipend of NT$100 per hour to help meet their living expenses or up to a maximum of NT$12,000 per month.
The ministry has also implemented a series of online training programs for affected workers and have set up a free helpline at 0800-777888.
Amid a recession due to weak global demand, the government has been releasing furlough statistics twice a month, giving updates on the domestic labor market.
The nation saw GDP drop 0.84 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter of contraction.
Inflation-adjusted exports fell 3.93 percent in the first quarter, worse than the government’s forecast of a 2.36 percent decline.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
RSS