The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus unveiled draft legislation today aimed at protecting delivery workers’ rights, including guaranteed pay and minimum wage, the right to go offline and restrictions on platforms arbitrarily terminating contracts.
The DPP held a news conference at the Legislative Yuan to announce the draft law, inviting National Delivery Industrial Union chair Chen Yu-an (陳昱安) and spokesperson Su Po-hao (蘇柏豪), as well as Taipei Online Delivery Platform Workers’ Union chair Cheng Li-chia (鄭力嘉) to participate.
DPP policy committee executive director Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said the draft bill has 25 articles and highlights 10 key provisions.
Photo: CNA
Wu said this includes guarantees for delivery fees, minimum wage and workers’ right to go offline, as well as restrictions on platforms arbitrarily terminating contracts and the establishment of complaint channels.
Platforms would be responsible for workers’ occupational hazard insurance premiums and for record-keeping, to which the government would have access, she said.
The legislation would also standardize contracts among platforms, delivery workers, consumers and merchants and protect both consumers’ and delivery workers’ personal data, she added.
DPP caucus secretary-general Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) said that standardized contracts between platforms, workers, consumers and merchants are essential to ensure that all parties are protected and help resolve disputes.
The legislation must also protect consumers’ and workers’ personal data, Chen said.
DPP Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said that the draft legislation overcomes the previous dilemma in which delivery workers were forced to be classified either as employees or contractors, aiming to ensure that delivery work remains both flexible and safe.
Cheng said that the delivery industry has been in Taiwan for almost 10 years, and although countless meetings have been held, the industry still lacks a trustworthy and auditable system.
The DPP caucus’ draft legislation is the most comprehensive, standing out for its use of Ministry of Transportation delivery rates alongside minimum wage to guarantee fare compensation for delivery workers, Cheng said.
Su highlighted that while the minimum wage has increased annually, delivery workers’ wages have been decreasing.
Opposition parties should work with the ruling party on this proposed legislation to eliminate this unjust situation, Su said.
A Chinese military drone was spotted conducting reconnaissance off Taitung County as President William Lai (賴清德) visited Pingtung County this morning to inspect a drill of the armed forces’ precision-strike capabilities, prompting the military to closely monitor its actions. Today was the final day of a three-day military exercise at Jioupeng Base (九鵬基地) to test the joint combat capabilities of the armed forces and coast guard. The exercise began on Wednesday simulating air defense interception and yesterday tested long-range strike capabilities and new air defense weapons. This morning, the military conducted a final exercise involving air defense, anti-ship and drone operations. Military sources said
OCT. 31: The antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Eraflu have been distributed to about 4,000 medical facilities nationwide for people in seven groups who develop flu-like symptoms As the domestic influenza epidemic enters its peak season and continues to escalate, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday announced that publicly funded influenza antiviral drugs for seven eligible groups have been extended to Oct. 31, allowing those who develop flu-like symptoms to receive the medication without undergoing a rapid influenza test. The CDC has extended the expanded use of flu antiviral drugs to seven groups: healthcare and influenza-prevention personnel; residents and staff at nursing homes, long-term care facilities and similar institutions; kindergarten and daycare workers and home-based caregivers; students from kindergarten through high school, vocational high school and the
RARE PEEK: The footage released showed one of the bears staying in a cave for as long as 70 days, providing the first record of Formosan black bear’s overwintering The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday released tracking records of released Formosan black bears for the first time, showing that they get much closer to human settlements than previously thought. The agency said it had captured two bears, Da Qu-ali (達古阿里) and Aziman (阿里曼), in indigenous villages in Hualien County and began to track them with a camera-mounted satellite collar after releasing them back into the wild. The results confirmed that the bears have moved from deep mountain areas into lowland hills closer to human communities, leading to an increase in human-bear conflicts, it said. The agency has introduced artificial intelligence-assisted early
DIPLOMATIC TOUR: Chinese President Xi Jinping began a series of overseas visits last month to Kyrgyzstan, Egypt and India, aimed at securing leverage, an official said Recent Chinese diplomatic and military moves are aimed at creating pressure ahead of a planned meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump, National Security Council adviser Huang Chung-yen (黃重諺) said. Trump when visiting China in May extended an invitation to Xi to visit Washington on Sept. 24. China is yet to officially announce plans for Xi’s visit to the US. In an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) on Thursday, Huang said Xi’s overseas visits, China’s “gray zone” activities along the First Island Chain and efforts to expand its trade surplus with the
RSS