The government should communicate with labor rights groups about the potential impact on workers if the US imposes a 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese products, the Taiwan Labor Action Coalition in Response to Tariff Impact said yesterday.
The coalition, which was officially established yesterday by members of about 70 workers’ unions, called for communication with the government amid the nation’s ongoing negotiations with Washington over the trade issue.
The EU has estimated that US tariffs could affect 5 million European workers, while government officials in Taiwan assessed that at least 500,000 workers would be affected, the coalition’s labor issue specialist Chen Po-chien (陳柏謙) said.
Photo: CNA
“Since early April, President William Lai (賴清德) and Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) have had more than 20 meetings with industry representatives. Unfortunately, they have not had any meetings with workers’ unions. So, we formed a coalition today so that the government can listen to us,” Chen said.
Although Ministry of Labor officials have met with workers’ union representatives across the nation, they mostly spoke about reinforcing professional training for workers and assisting those who lose their jobs in returning to the job market, Chen said.
“Labor officials seemed to be telling workers that the best they can do is to handle the aftermath of workers losing jobs because of tariffs,” Chen said.
“We know that we cannot possibly participate in bilateral trade negotiations, but we want to know the government’s labor policy while it negotiates with the US and to be given a chance to express our thoughts on this matter,” he said.
The coalition demanded that the government respond to its petition, saying that otherwise it would mobilize workers and their families to protest.
The machinery industry is bracing for the first wave of impact from the US tariffs, Taiwan Machinery Industry Labor Union Federation chairman Tuan Wei-chung (段維中) said, adding that the industry is already in a precarious state due to wars and the appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the US dollar.
Many small manufacturers of screws in Kaohsiung have gone bankrupt, and they could be destroyed if the tariffs target their products, Tuan said.
Workers are anxious about the US imposing tariffs on Taiwanese products, because they are not sure if the affected companies can continue normal operations and whether they would lay off employees, Taiwan Confederation of Trade Union chairman Tai Kuo-rong (戴國榮) said.
“The government should have short, medium and long-term response strategies regarding US tariffs’ potential impacts on Taiwanese workers,” Tai said. “The government should have a transparent three-way conversation with employers and workers.”
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