Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen’s (陳玉珍) bill to strip regulations governing lawmakers’ use of their stipends drew a backlash yesterday, as staffers from scores of legislators’ offices signed a petition condemning the move.
Chen’s proposed amendments to the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) and the Regulations on Allowances for Elected Representatives and Subsidies for Chiefs of Village (地方民意代表費用支給及村里長事務補助費補助條例) would stipulate that legislators and local councilors may use their allowances without providing invoices for reimbursement.
On Tuesday, a legislative staffer launched a petition calling for the amendments to be withdrawn, citing harm to the rights of assistants at the Legislative Yuan, and at city and county government councils.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Alliance of Parliamentary Staffers in a statement yesterday said that 252 staffers from the offices of 44 Democratic Progressive Party, 24 KMT, and five Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers, as well as two party caucuses, had signed the petition as of midday.
The number of assistants supporting the petition would continue to grow despite inaction at the legislative staffers’ union, it said.
Legislators are urged to stand with their staffers in opposition to the regressive attack on labor rights posed by Chen’s bill, which must be withdrawn posthaste, the alliance said.
Commenting on condition of anonymity, a source with knowledge of the matter said that TPP Legislator Liu Shu-pin (劉書彬) ordered her staffers not to sign the petition and scolded an assistant over the matter.
The staffer was said to have run out of Liu’s office to ask the petition organizers to remove their signatures from the document, they said.
Liu denied the accusation, saying that the TPP caucus supports the current regulations, which were written to ensure legislators’ stipends are utilized only for official business.
Chen said she had no knowledge of any lawmakers pressuring their staffers over her proposed amendments and that there is “no need” for assistants to talk about the matter to the media or resort to political action.
Chen welcomes staffers to discuss their concerns through the staffers’ union, she said.
Additional reporting by Lin Che-yuan, Liu Wan-lin
and Lin Hsin-han
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