Labor groups yesterday marked International Workers’ Day with a march through Taipei, while groups focused on pushing a higher minimum wage and guaranteed worker pension plans.
Participants congregated along Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building, before marching past the Legislative Yuan — where they unfurled large banners with slogans asking for legislators’ support.
A teachers’ group later held a sit-in protest in front of the Executive Yuan, while brief scuffles broke out with police in front of the Control Yuan.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions director Chiang Chien-hsin (江健興) led attendees in chanting slogans on a stage with participants waving flags and banners representing workers’ groups from various industries, as well as migrant workers from Southeast Asian countries.
Taiwan has done well in the fight against COVID-19, compared with most countries that had repeated lockdowns and business closures, the confederation said in a statement.
Taiwan’s GDP grew 3.11 percent last year, with new highs in the stock market and the GDP forecast to grow 4.64 percent this year after already reaching 8.16 percent last quarter, it said, citing government data.
The prosperity at the top is the result of workers’ blood, sweat and tears, Chiang said.
“Taiwan’s workers made the main contributions to last year’s ‘economic miracle,’ but did not receive their fair share of the benefits. Wage increases lagged far behind economic growth and corporate profits,” he said.
“The government keeps touting Taiwan’s economic performance, yet it is only willing to offer a monthly minimum wage increase of NT$200,” he said, referring to an increase that took effect in January that raised the monthly minimum wage from NT$23,800 to NT$24,000 and the hourly minimum wage from NT$158 to NT$160.
Chiang said that the increases were insignificant, and called for the monthly minimum wage to be raised to NT$30,000.
He also urged the government to increase salaries for state enterprises, teachers and civil servants.
Another problem facing workers is pension security, as the labor pension system is projected to go bankrupt by 2026, the group said.
They urged the government to consult with labor unions in establishing a system similar to the sovereign wealth fund — a state-owned fund supported by revenue from commodity exports, foreign-exchange reserves and other investments — to make sure that the pension scheme does not collapse.
Organizers on stage had food items delivered by Uber Eats and Foodpanda workers to highlight the delegates representing the National Delivery Industrial Union as a new labor force of mostly young people, many of whom were attending the event for the first time.
Arery Chen (陳昱安), an organizer for the National Delivery Industrial Union, said that workers from Lalamove, Gogo X and others were also joining the union.
They have realized the need to band together after the two leading delivery platforms cut pay 10 to 30 percent in March, Chen said, adding that the union is calling for more rights for food delivery workers, as well as improved compensation for drivers injured in traffic accidents on the job.
Additional reporting by CNA
A recently discovered supernova is the brightest and closest to Earth identified in the past decade, and can be observed with basic equipment, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said on Wednesday. The supernova has an absolute magnitude of 14.9 in luminosity and is in the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) about 21 million light-years from Earth. It was discovered early on May 20 by Japanese amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki, who immediately reported the finding to the International Astronomical Union, the museum said. The supernova was designated SN 2023ixf following the astronomical naming conventions for supernovas, it added. The museum said that it observed
Tropical storm Guchol is moving in a northeasterly direction off the east coast of the Philippines and will not hit Taiwan, but will impact local weather starting on Friday, the Central Weather Bureau said Thursday. The storm would bring a low-pressure system northward toward the vicinity of Taiwan, forecaster Chao Hung (趙竑) said. Northern Taiwan will see intermittent rain showers in the morning, and thunderstorms in the afternoon on Friday, he said, adding that rain would be heavier on the east coast and in the central-southern mountainous areas. Rainfall would continue into Saturday, and would spread throughout Taiwan proper, he
Exiled Chinese democracy advocate Wang Dan (王丹) yesterday denied an accusation by former Taiwanese political worker Lee Yuan-chun (李援軍) that Wang had sexually harassed him in a hotel room in New York nine years ago. There was a huge gap between Lee’s accusation and his own understanding and memory, Wang wrote on Facebook, adding it was hard for him to respond further regarding a “unilateral description” made by someone else. Wang made the remarks after his initial response on Facebook was met with criticism, with people saying he did not directly address the allegation. Lee on Friday wrote on Facebook that he
A man was arrested in Hsinchu on Saturday on suspicion of filming women in the women’s washroom of a shopping mall in the city, local Chinese-language media reported on Thursday. The man was arrested at around noon on Saturday when a woman using a stall in the mall’s washroom noticed a cellphone being held above her from the neighboring stall, reports said. The woman ran out of the washroom and yelled to her husband to help her, after which the suspect – who was dressed as a woman – attempted to flee, but was subdued by other men until police