The Taipei City Government yesterday said the private sector is flooding officials with inquiries about a proposal on seven-hour work days, amid criticism from city councilors that the municipality overpromised, but underdelivered.
The comments came a day after Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) announced an initiative to support flexible work hours for parents of children aged 12 or younger.
The policy — which would subsidize 80 percent of lost wages due to less work hours — is scheduled to go into effect on Sunday.
Photo: Taipei Times
Many businesses have called the Taipei Department of Labor regarding the policy’s implementation and eligibility requirements, a city government spokesperson said.
A Web page has been created for the program, and the city government is working on information packages, they said, adding that officials would communicate with business owners.
Taipei City Councilor Ho Meng-hua (何孟樺) yesterday slammed the Taipei City Government, saying Chiang has fluffed up the policy with promises that cannot be cashed.
The plan gave the impression that it would share personnel costs, but Chiang did not mention that each person could only receive a maximum of NT$15,000 (US$479.98) nor that the subsidy would only last eight months, she said.
Unless a person earns less than the NT$29,500 minimum wage and the company implements the program for less than eight months, NT$15,000 is nowhere near enough to cover 80 percent of lost wages, Ho said.
Companies would receive a maximum subsidy of NT$100,000, which would only cover six to seven employees, she added.
Additionally, the city government’s budget can only support 55 companies, Ho said.
“According to estimates, covering 80 percent of the lost wages for 240,000 parents over a year would require NT$8.7 billion, yet Chiang allocated only NT$5.5 million,” she said. “Is this a joke?”
“Chiang’s policy has the substance of a potato chip bag,” Ho said.
The Taipei City Government must adequately budget its policies and include big businesses in its plan if Chiang wishes to convince residents that the flexible hour initiative is not a lie to get their vote, she said.
Taipei City Councilor Chen Hsien-wei (陳賢蔚) said the city government was rushing the policy planning, and that its budget allocation, implementation plans, impact assessments and expected goals were unclear.
The city’s labor department said it allocated NT$5.5 million for the policy because it is still testing the private sector’s response to the proposal, adding that Chiang has pledged to establish a reserve fund should demand from businesses and residents exceed the initial budget.
Department of Labor Commissioner Wang Chiu-tung (王秋冬) said the initiative is intended only for private-sector employees, not government workers.
Regarding concerns that Taipei residents with children might face discrimination when they apply for work, Wang said the policy is intended as a tool to “retain talent” amid a labor shortage.
If discrimination does occur, people can report it to the department, he added.
As for whether people who are single or non-Taipei residents might have to work overtime to compensate for other employees’ reduced hours, the city government said it hoped that other cities or the central government would follow suit after seeing Taipei’s results.
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