Many perceived problems with a draft amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) have existed for a long time and have nothing to do with the bill, Minister of Labor Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) said yesterday.
Lin made the remarks at a legislative hearing held by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in response to lawmakers’ comments on the draft amendment.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) asked the Ministry of Labor to stop implying that workers would only be made to work 12 consecutive days under extreme circumstances, saying that the situation should never be allowed to arise.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
He said the proposed amendment relies too heavily on negotiations between employers and employees, which would be the condition for business owners to reduce rest time between shifts from 11 to eight hours and to raise the monthly overtime quota from 46 to 54 hours, as long as overtime is capped at 138 hours every three months
The regulations governing the workweek, working hours, the calculation of overtime pay and total overtime hours would not be changed by the amendment, Lin said, adding that the ministry hopes that employees would still be granted two days off each week after the passage of the amendment.
Businesses must obtain the consent of their workers and register with local authorities before they are allowed to implement a 12-day workweek, she said.
Most local governments approve of the proposed amendment and the central government would improve communication with them, as they monitor business owners to ensure that labor rules are followed, she said.
DPP lawmaker Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) raised concern over the disproportionately large role played by employer-employee negotiations under the proposed amendment, saying that workers get the short end of the stick.
The act has loopholes, which would make it prone to abuse, Kuan said, citing a lack of rules prohibiting employees from working 12 consecutive hours.
The ministry would use opinions gathered yesterday as a reference if the act is to be changed again in the future, Lin said.
The KMT caucus criticized the DPP’s rejection of its request to hold two public hearings on the proposed amendment.
The DPP is being reckless by allowing the two parties to hold just one hearing each, which is unacceptable given the amendment’s far-reaching implications, the KMT said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS