The National Association for Firefighters’ Rights (NAFR) yesterday held a protest on Ketagelan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei to urge the government to allow firefighters to form unions in light of the deaths of firefighters in a fire on Friday at Pingtung Technology Industrial Park.
The fire killed seven people, including four firefighters, with more than 90 injured and three missing as of 4:30pm yesterday.
Pointing to a banner at the protest that listed the names of 39 firefighters who have died in the line of duty over the past decade, association member Huang Sheng (黃升) said the association has repeatedly demanded that the government institute systemic reforms over the past decade to prevent further incidents.
Photo: Screen grab from the association’s Facebook page
“Our cries and urges have only been met with more firefighters’ deaths,” he said.
The association is demanding that the government allow firefighters to form unions, for the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法) to apply to firefighters, for the Public Servant Health and Safety Act (公務人員安全衛生辦法) to include firefighter rights groups in decision-making, and for the central government to step up subsidies to local governments and bolster firefighting capabilities.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said at the Legislative Yuan that the government has heard the association’s demands and would investigate the issue.
However, the demand to allow firefighters to form unions is complicated, as the government would also have to look into allowing other groups — teachers, police and others — to form unions, he said.
Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱), spokesman for Vice President William Lai’s (賴清德) presidential campaign office, said that regardless of what measures are enacted to address the issue, the government would continue to reach out to firefighters’ rights groups to achieve a consensus.
Taiwan People’s Party presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) pledged on Facebook that if elected, he would fully support firefighters forming a union and for the Occupational Safety and Health Act to fully apply to firefighters.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate, said that legislation must be able to protect police and firefighters and allow them to work knowing their families would be taken care of in the event something happens.
Independent candidate Terry Gou (郭台銘) said he supported government action, such as establishing firefighter schools, to help train people and bolster the ranks of firefighters across the nation, as they have long faced personnel shortages.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS