Lawmakers and labor rights advocates in Taipei yesterday called for legislation to ensure that students are educated about labor-related topics before they enter the workplace.
Such education would prevent students from being exploited in internships or cooperative education placements, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said.
Universities should include courses on labor issues as part of the required curriculum, while employers should also receive mandatory labor-related education taught by professionals, she said.
Taiwan is known for many things, such as its National Health Insurance program and its success in containing COVID-19, DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) said.
However, issues such as long working hours, low pay and other work-related problems also exist, he said.
Children should be taught about labor rights and related topics from a young age, he said.
Elementary students in Germany “know what a union is and know how to strike to gain the rights they deserve,” Liu said.
People cannot escape the employer-employee relationship in a capitalist market, he said.
Before legislation is introduced, the ministry could act by requiring employers to attend classes so that they cannot claim ignorance of labor laws when they are penalized for contravening them, Confederation of Taipei Trade Unions vice president Chiu I-kan (邱奕淦) said.
If a bill on labor-related education can be passed in the current legislative term, it would be the “most important [piece of] labor legislation” to be passed during the term, Youth Labor Union 95 representative Cheng Chung-jui (鄭中睿) said.
Many workers are not aware when their legal rights have been breached or, when contraventions occur, they do not know where to seek help, Taiwan Labour Front director of education Yang Shu-wei (楊書瑋) said.
Labor-related education is not just for people to obtain knowledge, it also establishes and communicates social values, he said.
The target audience for labor-related education should be expanded, and a dedicated group should be responsible for researching labor-related education policy and teaching materials, Yang said.
Legislation for labor-related education could help prevent labor disputes, Taipei Doctors’ Union representative Liao Yu-wen (廖郁雯) said.
Many labor disputes originate because employers and employees lack understanding of labor laws, she said.
Giving students correct information while they are still at school would lower the number of labor disputes and the costs involved, she added.
Responsibility should not just fall on the Ministry of Education, Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare general secretary Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) said, adding that the Ministry of Labor should also be included in the efforts.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS