Trucking companies and natural gas dealers are to be granted “flexible working hours” exceptions from overtime restrictions for the first time under new rules announced by the Ministry of Labor yesterday, as it continues to make adjustments following the implementation of “one mandatory day off, one flexible rest day” reforms.
Natural gas firms are to be placed on a list of firms with “four-week flexible working hours,” while trucking firms will be on a list with “eight-week flexible working hours.”
Both lists grant exemptions from overtime rules, but they offer different amounts of flexibility.
Photo: CNA
“Eight-week flexible working hours” conditions continue to require that workers be given a “mandatory day off” every seven days, while allowing their “flexible rest days” to be spread freely over the eight-week period.
“Four week flexible working hours” rules allow “mandatory days off” to be spread freely over a two-week period and “flexible rest days” to be given within a four-week timeframe.
The Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) largely restricts application of the “four week” exemption to the service sector, while both special regulations can only be adopted by individual firms after obtaining consent from their workers.
“Industries are applying for ‘flexible working hours’ mainly because they used to shuffle the ‘mandatory rest day’ around within two-week periods, but that avenue has been closed under our new stricter interpretation of regulatory standards,” Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Deputy Director Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛) said.
The ministry has interpreted existing “mandatory rest day” regulations more strictly as part of the “one mandatory day off, one flexible rest day” reforms that aim to encourage a universal five-day workweek, Huang said.
The gas dealers’ application was approved because of the unpredictable nature of demand, as consumers find out they are out of gas while cooking or showering, he said, adding that this necessitated more flexible working hours.
Logistics companies were included because they face irregular peak periods, particularly when ships arrive in port and need to be unloaded, Huang added.
In the past months, the ministry has introduced exceptions for overseas business travel and administering civil servant entrance exams, as well as for butchers and passenger transportation workers during national holidays.
Huang said the ministry estimated that roughly 75,000 workers would be affected by the inclusion of logistics firms and natural gas dealers.
“There’s still definite limits on the flexibility granted, which is limited to workdays — not work time — so overall work time should not change,” Deputy Minister of Labor Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said, even as the move drew criticism from workers’ groups.
“‘Flexibility’ sounds great, but this is really about opening a back door for business interests, Logistical Labor Rights Self-help Association chairman Tseng Yu-cheng (曾堉誠) said, demanding that the ministry restore regular “one mandatory day off and one flexible rest day” rights for workers in the sectors.
Additional reporting Huang Pang-ping
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
RSS